With the baseball season started and drafts and auctions completed, we now enter the season of “finding the hidden gem” or “next great young player.”
Some players are not hidden gems and are already the next great young player. Players in that category, or players like Kevin McGonigle or JJ Wetherholt, but if you don’t know about them by now, then you aren’t paying any attention to players when it comes to dynasty baseball. I’ll go out on a limb here – they are studs. If you have one or both of these players, keep them unless an offer is made to you that is simply too good to pass up.
If you don’t have one of those two players, good luck getting them.
Then there are some players who are highly rated prospects but may not be getting as much buzz as they should. One of those players, I feel, is Carson Benge of the New York Mets.
So let’s talk about the team’s rookie right fielder.
The Stats – Through 4-1-26
| YEAR | LEVEL | G | R | HR | RBI | SB | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-24 | NCAA | 120 | 131 | 25 | 107 | 18 | .339 | .455 | .609 |
| 2024 | A | 15 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 3 | .273 | .420 | .436 |
| 2025 | A+|AA|AAA | 116 | 87 | 15 | 73 | 22 | .281 | .385 | .472 |
| 2026 | Mets | 6 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | .158 | .238 | .316 |
Carson Benge shouldn’t be an unknown to those who play dynasty baseball. He entered the season as the 19th ranked prospect by Baseball America, 16th by MLB, and 10 by Baseball Prospectus. Itch had Benge ranked 14th in the Razzball prospect rankings.
While Benge entered the season as one of the top prospects in MLB, he has worked hard to reach the level he has. A star at Yukon High School in Oklahoma, Benge went 8-1 with 124 strikeouts on the mound his senior season while also hitting .490. Despite those impressive numbers, he went undrafted out of high school and attended Oklahoma State University.
Benge was a two-sport star at Oklahoma State, though it got off to a slow start due to undergoing Tommy John surgery in 2022 and missing the season. On the mound he was 5-4 with a 4.88 ERA and 1.375 WHIP in 28 career games (14 starts). In 18 games (including four starts) in 2024 he went 3-2 with three saves and posted a 3.16 ERA and 1.00 WHIP with a 10.7 K/9 rate, a much better showing compared to 2023 when he returned from the surgery and had a 6.69 ERA and 1.771 WHIP.
The Tools
- Hit
After his successful junior season, the Mets drafted him with the 19th overall pick and did so because of his bat. In his final season at OSU, he slashed .335/.444/.665 with 18 homers, 64 RBI, and 10 steals in 61 games. Once he was drafted by the Mets, he quickly abandoned pitching to concentrate on hitting, and the move paid off. In his first full pro season, he slashed .281/.385/.472 across three levels with 15 homers and 22 steals.
Carson Benge does a good job of controlling the strike zone, as he had only an 18% strikeout rate in the minors and 15% in college. That knowledge of the strike zone carries over to having the willingness to take walks. He had a 16% walk rate in college, and in the minors, it was 13%. And Benge is not just a pull hitter as he sprays the ball of tall fields. Benge’s ability to hit was on display during spring training as he slashed .366/.435/.439 with five RBI and one steal in 14 games and 46 plate appearances with only nine strikeouts to go with four walks.
- Power
The Mets love his bat-to-ball skills and his knowledge of the zone, and they firmly believe those skills will help him be an above average power hitter at the MLB level. At Triple-A last year, his average EV was 92.1 mph with a MaxEV of 110.4 mph. Overall, he had a 52.8% Hard Hit%. Through his first six MLB games, he has a EV of 92 mph with a 50% Hard Hit%.
Benge did struggle a bit with lifting the ball last year, as he had a 42.5% ground ball rate and a 32.8% fly ball rate. But once he moved to Triple-A, his line drive percentage went from 21.4% at Double-A to 27.1%, showing he was able to make adjustments as he climbed through the system – adjustments he will have to continue to make as he currently has a 58% ground ball rate. But Benge, who is 6-foot-1, should fill out his frame as he matures, learn to lift the ball more and add even power to his game, leading to lots of home run like this one, his first career MLB homer.
- Run
This is the tool that helps Benge separate himself from other players he is similar to when it comes to the hit and power tools.
Carson Benge is not going to swipe 40 bags each season, but 30 is not out of the question. He had 22 last year in the minors and already has two this season with the Mets.
The Verdict
It is obviously very early in the season, but the early returns for Carson Benge are pointing to a player who should produce power, average, and steals in the majors. Right now, Benge is ranking in the 97th percentile in Average EV at 97.3 mph, in the 95th percentile in Launch Angle Sweet Spot% (55.6%), and in the 92nd percentile in Hard Hit% (66.7%). Again, it is very early, but he certainly does not look overmatched at the plate right now.
If you are looking for instant power, Benge is likely not your man, as I think he will be close to 15 homers this year. Instead, his power will likely start to show next season and certainly by 2028. But his speed should play well this season, as I can see him swiping 20 steals, maybe 25 if he gets on base enough.
If you are looking to add Carson Benge, now may be the time to do so, as he is rostered in only 36% of Yahoo leagues and 20% of ESPN leagues. But over in Fantrax, you will likely have to trade for him as he is rostered in 87% of leagues.
Thank You
Thanks for reading, and come back again next week.
