The New York Mets just pushed their chips into the center of the table by trading for Luis Robert Jr., a move that screams “high risk, high reward” louder than a Vegas slot machine. We can debate whether Robert is an MVP candidate or an injury-prone tease until we’re blue in the face, but while the cameras are fixed on the new center fielder, the most interesting storyline of the spring is unfolding quietly on the backfields of Florida.
According to Will Sammon of The Athletic, top OF prospect Carson Benge is already down in Port St. Lucie, sweating through drills well ahead of schedule with one goal in mind: stealing a job on the Opening Day roster.
David Stearns didn’t acquire Robert to block the kids; he acquired him to raise the ceiling. That leaves left field wide open, and frankly, Benge has every right to think he can take it. The 23-year-old left-handed hitter isn’t just showing up to camp for the free meal money; he’s there to force the front office’s hand.
Don’t Let the Triple-A Hiccup Fool You
If you just glance at Benge’s final stat line from 2025, you might hesitate, but you’d be missing the forest for the trees. Sure, he hit a wall in Triple-A Syracuse, batting a meager .178 with a 53 wRC+ over a 24-game cup of coffee. But let’s be real—judging a prospect on less than a month of at-bats in a new league is a fool’s errand.
The real Carson Benge was the terror we saw in Double-A Binghamton. That version of the kid was absolutely electric, slashing .317/.407/.571 while looking like a seasoned vet in the box. He didn’t just hit; he dominated the zone with a 15.9% strikeout rate and a 12.4% walk rate, posting a ludicrous 184 wRC+ that made Eastern League pitchers look like they were throwing batting practice. He launched eight homers and drove in 23 runs in that span, showing off the kind of polished, all-fields power that plays in Queens.
A Perfect Complement to the Right-Handed Heavyweights
The Mets’ lineup is now balanced with Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and now Marcus Semien, which makes Benge’s left-handed swing a tactical necessity rather than just a luxury. He offers a contact-first approach that balances out the swing-and-miss tendencies of the big boppers. Plus, the kid has a cannon; remember, he was a two-way player at Oklahoma State, and that arm strength plays anywhere in the outfield.
His primary competition is Tyrone Taylor, a solid, professional outfielder who provides a safe floor. But “safe” doesn’t win championships. Benge offers the contact skills, the base-running dynamic, and the defensive upside that Taylor simply can’t match at this stage of his career. If Benge tears it up in the Grapefruit League, Stearns has already admitted the kid will get a legitimate shot to break camp with the big club. The Luis Robert trade was the headline, but Carson Benge might end up being the story.
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