Carson Benge had his welcome to the big leagues moment last night when he delivered the walk-off knock to cap off a three-hit night. Even with that, Benge has gotten off to a slow start to begin his major league career, as the outfielder came into Wednesday hitting .215 with a .611 OPS. Nobody was sounding the alarms, but during a time when you have rookies taking the league by storm, patience is something that most fans don’t have. Benge is in the 92nd percentile in launch angle sweet spot, so he might be due for some better luck in the near future, especially considering his solid exit velocities. It obviously doesn’t help when the rest of the Mets lineup is in a season-long slump, as more pressure falls on younger players and contributors to produce at a higher level. Benge’s offensive production should come around eventually, but in the meantime, he has shown to be an impactful starter even when his piece of lumber goes cold.
Benge has already proven he is a plus fielder in the outfield. He has played all three spots in the outfield, which is valuable knowing that not everyone will play 162 games (as the Mets have been made aware to start 2026). Although right field has been his primary spot, it’s not always easy to be constantly move around, but Benge has shown he is more than up to the task. As it stands coming into yesterday’s matchup against the Tigers, Benge was in the 86th percentile in outs above average, which measures a fielder’s range. Although it makes sense to station the rookie in right field for now, Benge has shown he can play all three outfield spots with range being one of the biggest factors. In addition to his stellar range, Benge has one of the best arms in baseball. He only stands at 6’1” and 184 pounds, but he ranks in the 93rd percentile in arm strength. So far, Benge has recorded 94 MPH on his throws. That is just outside the top five in the league regardless of position and is ahead of players such as Fernando Tatis Jr. and Ronald Acuña Jr. His range to go along with his rocket arm has propelled Benge to being a plus defender in fielding run value.
One of the main reasons Benge’s defense has transitioned to the big leagues is his ability to read the ball off of the bat. Benge gets some of the best jumps in all of baseball. It’s actually interesting to note that he is pedestrian in his routes and even his reaction time is solid but nothing to write home about compared to the rest of the league. Where Benge separates himself from the pack is his burst. He sneaks into the top 10 in burst, which will help him make up ground even if his routes aren’t crisp. Mets fans should want to see Benge improve in his route running, but that is something that can get better with coaching and experience. Remember, he is still learning how to navigate his own home ballpark. We see this all come together with his top 10 ranking in the average feet he covers on the ground. He covers 2.5 feet over the average ballplayer. That is ahead of Ceddanne Rafaela and just below Jacob Young. All of this leads to him being seventh in feet covered at over 37 feet (less than a foot below the speedy Chandler Simpson).
When it comes to positioning, it will be interesting to see if the Mets explore playing Benge deeper in the outfield. He is much better at coming in on balls than going back. This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise. For any person, it’s easier to sprint forward than go back and then locate a moving object. His metrics going back aren’t anything to be concerned about. It’s not like he is a completely different player, but he is not a plus-player when having to go back on balls.
Baseball Savant categorizes the difficulty of catches with a certain number of stars based on the probability of making the play. It’s a simple one to five scale with one star being the easiest and five stars being the hardest. Although Benge has scuffled hauling in those five-star opportunities, he has made three of the five four star plays. The three plays he has made only trails Pete Crow-Armstrong. Although 60% still leaves room for improvement, it is tied with Corbin Carroll. Benge has also made the easier plays as well. He has not missed a single one-star catch and is tied with Acuña Jr. and Young in two-star percentage (87.5%). He’s technically also perfect on three-star plays but has only had one opportunity.
In addition to his great defense, Benge has added a ton of value on the basepaths. He ranks in the 89th percentile in base running value and in the 87th percentile in sprint speed. He is positive both in baserunning runs and base-stealing runs.
Benge has already shown the Mets organization he is a valuable player. It’s tough to see past some of his offensive numbers given the lack of production from the majority of the Mets lineup, but it is unfair to point the finger at a 23-year-old rookie. Being a great defender and plus baserunner already gives Benge a solid floor and reason to stick in the majors. Not to mention, Benge has also shown improvement at the dish. Entering Wednesday, the rookie was slashing .333/.385/.542 over his last week’s worth of games. Even over his last 15 contests, his average sat above .290.
In a time when you have phenoms who hit the ground running before they can legally drink, it’s easy to lose sight of how young some of these players are and the inevitable learning curve they face. After New York promoted top prospect A.J. Ewing, Benge is no longer the new kid in town with all eyes on him. He is in the perfect spot with the public giving him time to get acclimated without the pressure of being the newest and brightest object. Even as Benge sees pitchers a second time and gets more comfortable playing in front of thousands of people on a nightly basis, he has already proven that he is a three-tool player while his hit tool could be catching up.
3 comments:
His 3 hits, including his walk off single last night, further support your view.
I know that adding muscle isn’t the solve – all solution, but I’d like to see him add 10 pounds to his frame. I would also, as I suggested in my comment on Paul’s article this morning, still like to see those fences moved in 5 feet, and seven or 8 feet and centerfield. 10 more pounds of muscle and a few less feet in field dimension and I think that Benge’s hit tool would be a whole lot stronger, production-wise, as a met.
Simply put, you are watching someone turn into a productive major league baseball starter.
It is a pleasure to watch him advance. It is also very encouraging to see him continue to improve his game in the midst of a bunch of failing veterans. This speaks to his focus and bodes very well for the future.
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