Andres Chavez
The New York Mets were hosting a fierce battle for their starting right field gig. Brett Baty, Mike Tauchman, Tyrone Taylor, MJ Melendez, and Carson Benge, the organization’s top position player prospect, were among those considered.
With Tauchman’s unfortunate knee injury diagnosed as a meniscus tear, his options of making the roster vanished. Baty and Taylor will be included on the roster, the former as a super-utility guy and the latter as a reserve outfielder.
What about Benge, then? Well, Mike Puma of the New York Post announced what every Mets fan was waiting for on Monday.
“NEWS: Carson Benge has been selected to the Mets’ Opening Day roster,” Puma wrote on his official X account. Since he is not coming to the majors to play part-time, we can assume Benge has won the right field job.
A Deserved Promotion
At this point, this was the most widely expected outcome given Benge’s excellent play in the Grapefruit League and his exciting potential. Yes, he struggled in Triple-A to the tune of a 53 wRC+ last year, but 103 plate appearances there don’t define who he is as a baseball player.
Benge hit 15 home runs and stole 22 bases in 519 trips to the plate between High-A, Double-A, and Triple-A, with a 13.1 percent walk rate and a very solid 17.7 percent strikeout rate. He also hit 25 doubles and seven triples.
The Mets’ 2024 first-round pick can do it all on the field: he has incredible bat-to-ball skills that help him avoid prolonged slumps, he has developing power, he can run as fast as any player on the team, and his defense is good. This is a potential five-tool contributor that the Mets are aggressively promoting to the bigs.
A Young Player Brimming With Upside
Truth be told, Benge won his promotion to the majors. He posted a .874 OPS in Grapefruit League play, with a double, a triple, five runs, five RBI, a stolen base, and a .366 batting average. He also hit a home run in one of the exhibition games prior to the World Baseball Classic.
The first few weeks might be a bit rough for Benge, so fans will need to be patient. Remember, he is still very young (23 years old) and is unproven at the highest level. The best hitters are capable of making adjustments on the go, and Benge has done that over the course of his pro career.
The dynamic outfielder was able to post a 150 wRC+ last year between the aforementioned minor league levels. Can he replicate that success against better pitchers with pinpoint command and superior stuff? That’s a fascinating question, and we shall find out in a few months.
For now, however, it’s time to be excited, and Mets fans certainly are. The Carson Benge era has officially started.
More about:New York Mets
