Mets' Carson Benge fights to adjust to major leagues
Carson Benge #3 of the New York Mets singles during the second inning against the Colorado Rockies at Citi Field on Friday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Carson Benge knew his adjustment to the big leagues “wasn't going to be easy.” But …
“It still sucks to struggle at any level,” he told Newsday recently. “But I feel like being in there, just giving quality AB after quality AB is my goal. Not too focused on the results. Just putting good ABs together for my team, and I feel like that will turn into something pretty good down the line.”
Through nearly one month of his rookie season, the 23-year-old outfielder has a .179/.247/.282 slash line with two homers, four RBIs and six stolen bases in 25 games after going 2-for-4 in the second game of Sunday's doubleheader sweep at the hands of the Rockies.
The initial offensive struggles for Benge – who entered the season as the Mets’ No. 2 prospect and the 16th-best prospect in baseball, according to MLB.com – certainly aren’t unique to him. And one of Benge’s first mentors in professional baseball, Mets outfield and first base coach Gilbert Gomez, said he has been “great” handling everything that comes with the adjustment.
“He's ready to play every time he comes in here, always looking for information, always willing to work,” said Gomez, who was Benge’s manager at High-A Brooklyn last season. “I'm just proud that he's been able to transition that part of the game into this environment.”
In a season that has gone nothing like the Mets expected through 28 games, it’s easy to forget just how fast Benge rocketed through their system. The Oklahoma State product was the Mets’ 2024 first-round pick (No. 19 overall), starting last season in Brooklyn and ending it with Triple-A Syracuse.
He has played in only 131 career minor-league games, and while he went out and earned his spot as the Mets’ starting rightfielder out of camp – he batted .366 with an .874 OPS in spring training – the role was only available because of David Stearns’ retooling of the roster. He was just the fourth player this century to make his MLB debut for the Mets with an Opening Day start.
“I think it's a learning curve, which is the same thing with every player that comes up for the first time,” Gomez said. “Defensively, he's handling it pretty well, man. He's made some really nice plays. It seems like he got faster, like the eye test and then the data backs it up. He's been able to cover some ground and make some plays, play everywhere in the outfield.
“We're excited with the fact that he hasn't taken the at-bats to defense. He's been playing really hard defense, and we know the at-bats are going to get better. That's going to come with time and experience.”
The data indeed backs it up.
Benge ranks in MLB’s 95th percentile in fielding range with three outs above average (OAA), according to Baseball Savant, which defines OAA as a “range-based metric of skill that shows how many outs a player has saved over his peers.” Benge has played all around the outfield, with 10 starts in leftfield (all after Juan Soto injured his calf on April 3), nine in rightfield and three in centerfield.
He has committed two errors, both fielding errors as a leftfielder against the Athletics on April 10 and 11, but the metrics remain solid. He also ranks in the 92nd percentile in arm strength (an average of 92.4 mph) and in the 90th percentile in sprint speed.
Offensive struggles, of course, aren’t limited to the big leagues. Gomez noted how hitless streaks – like the 0-for-24 skid Benge had earlier in the season – also happen in the minors, away from the limelight of New York. What does he view as the next steps in Benge’s progression?
“I think continue to understand who he is as a player, who he is as a hitter, understanding situations,” Gomez said. “I think it's just experience. Being able to [learn] – not only for himself, but also see that in other players, whether it's our team or other teams – and be able to learn from mistakes that he makes and mistakes that other people are making. But I think it's just experience and understanding who he is and what he needs to do to be successful.”
Benge acknowledged that “it’s a long season” and he’s learned not to “take anything for granted.” He added that if he sticks to his process, “things will work out.”
Gomez agrees.
“I was throwing BP to him early in the year, and I was like, ‘Man, I was throwing you BP in Coney Island last year, now we're here in Citi Field,’” Gomez said. “So it's pretty cool. He understands what's at stake, right?
“He knows all the work that he needs to put in to be a good ballplayer in the big leagues, and he's willing to do it.”
Ben Dickson is Newsday Sports' general assignment reporter. He joined Newsday’s high school sports staff in 2023 after graduating from Maryland, where he covered several of the Terrapins' teams.
