The Untouchable Carson Benge

[Centerfield]

I like the kid a lot.  And I wouldn't be looking to move him either.  He's often cited as one of the bright spots of the 2026 season, and a cornerstone of future Mets teams.  Does his production warrant being untouchable?

Overall, he's had an ok season.  .712 OPS, 11 HR, 1.8 WAR.  The numbers don't jump out.  But a lot of that is marred by his terrible start (.525 OPS in March/April).

If you remove his terrible March/April, his OPS since is pretty good:

May:  .801 OPS
June:  .750 OPS
July:  .748 OPS

A guy who puts up a mid to upper 700s OPS and plays great defense is a pretty good asset to have.  

His lefty-righty splits are pretty close.  .717 OPS against RHP.  .697 vs. LHP.  Small sample size, but I think it's encouraging that his splits don't suggest he'll be a future platoon player.  Michael Conforto put up much better numbers as a rookie, but his splits gave some insight into his future (.872 vs. RHP, .481 vs. LHP).

He's stolen 16 bases, while only being caught twice.  So if his power develops, maybe he can be a 20/20 player.  One thing he doesn't do, is hit doubles.  Only 13 on the season, only 4 since June 1, and one of them was that bullshit throw behind him so he moved up play.  

I don't know.  I can't put my finger on it.  I'm high on AJ Ewing.  Less convinced about Benge.  Hopefully he proves me wrong the next two months.  

[Frayed Knot]

12 minutes ago, Centerfield said:

  Hopefully he proves me wrong the next two months.  

Or?

[MFS62]

His ceiling looks like a prime comforto (25-75-.285) but it could go higher- he’s still learning what he can do. 
later

[Centerfield]

42 minutes ago, Frayed Knot said:

Or?

Trade him. Obviously. 
 

Kidding aside, or nothing. If he finishes with a .712 OPS then he’s just a rookie with upside. If he manages to get his OPS to the high 700s then you feel good about him for next year. 

[Frayed Knot]

ML average for OPS this season is 721 at the moment so, even if 712 is more or less where he ends up, to get that from a first year player is something we shouldn't be treating as disappointing at all. Don't fall into the trap where prospects are either become superstars or they're busts.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Just for fun, you have to trade Benge or Ewing at the deadline. Return is the same, two good prospects and a shitty reliever. Who stays and who goes?

[duan]

I'm keeping Ewing first - I think. Being better in CF means the bat doesn't need to be as good to make an impact. 

[Edgy MD]

He's gonna get one of those sweet Topps All-Rookie Team cups on his card next year.

NL Rookie WAR Leaders

1) JJ Wetherholt, STL: 3.7
2) Nolan McLean, NYM: 2.6
T3) Foster Griffin, WSN: 2.0
T3) TJ Rumfield, COL: 2.0
T5) Shane Drohan, MIL: 1.9
T5) Esmerlyn Valdez, PIT: 1.9
T7) Joe Mack, MIA: 1.5
T7) Carson Benge, NYM: 1.5
T7) Sal Stewart, CIN: 1.5
8) Didier Fuentes, ATL: 1.3
9) A.J. Ewing, NYM: 1.3
10) Cole Carrigg, COL: 1.2

It would be a shame to see that cup appear on his card when he's got somebody else's hat on, even moreso since Pete Crow-Armstrong is looking like the leader in the MVP race (no matter how much Gary Cohen slobbers over Shohei Ohtani.

[The Hot Corner]

The thing that has impressed me this season regarding Benge has been his willingness and ability to make adjustments at the plate.  He has shortened his swing to better handle the velocity at the MLB level.  He isn't as open, which allows him to cover the outside corner better and lastly he is taking the pitches away to the opposite field far more.  That willingness to change and adapt should bode well for his future.   

[smg58]

I'm still pretty high on Benge, though I'm higher on Ewing.  He was thrown into the deep end before he was ready, and he adjusted and held his own. 

Our rookies were what went right this season.  I think you have to bet on them moving forward next year, regardless of how strongly they finish.

[Centerfield]

Benge up to a .736 OPS on the season. 
 

.798 OPS in August after an .801 OPS in July.  Trending upward.

 

[Edgy MD]

On 7/27/2026 at 10:02 PM, Johnny Lunchbucket said:

Just for fun, you have to trade Benge or Ewing at the deadline. Return is the same, two good prospects and a shitty reliever. Who stays and who goes?

I'm keeping Ewing because Benge's necklace is garish and Ewing's better on-base and marginally better defense and baserunning skills kind of give him more of foundation to justify his continued presence during slumps.

That's a conservative take, I know.

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

I feel like Ewing by far is the douchier of the 2. He'll have a good career as one of those beefy white guy dirtbags who hit like .270 every year and hang on for a long time and get traded alot because he's reliable but not a star, making appearances in Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Houston. I feel like Ewing is already fully formed and he'll just get fatter and slower from here.

Benge is a comer and we don't know how good he's going to be 

[Edgy MD]

Bob Dernier?  Dan Gladden?  Steve Finley?  Or do you have different comps?

It takes some real faith in The Mets/David Stearns/Andy Green to believe in AJ — I won't lie.  I hated the exfoliation of the system that they did at the trade deadline last season, dumping all this talent for relievers who would let them down, but it said something loudly about Ewing that, after Jett Williams came all the way back from his injury last season, they still moved him because they liked AJ better.

And whatever I thought of that, AJ totally passed the guy. That was a kick in the head for me.

[metirish]

 

 

 

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

2 hours ago, Edgy MD said:

Bob Dernier?  Dan Gladden?  Steve Finley?  Or do you have different comps?

It takes some real faith in The Mets/David Stearns/Andy Green to believe in AJ — I won't lie.  I hated the exfoliation of the system that they did at the trade deadline last season, dumping all this talent for relievers who would let them down, but it said something loudly about Ewing that, after Jett Williams came all the way back from his injury last season, they still moved him because they liked AJ better.

And whatever I thought of that, AJ totally passed the guy. That was a kick in the head for me.

More Dan Gladden. I was thinking guys like JD Drew, or Ty Wigginton, or Jim Edmonds or Brian Giles

[DocTee]

Eric Byrnes!

[MFS62]

Ewing will be a lefty Jay Payton?

Later

[Edgy MD]

Since Ewing is still 21 and Payton appeared in only a handful of games before 27, that would be terrific, as he is way ahead on the development ramp.

But I don't see that parallel.

[Centerfield]

1 hour ago, Johnny Lunchbucket said:

More Dan Gladden. I was thinking guys like JD Drew, or Ty Wigginton, or Jim Edmonds or Brian Giles

JD Drew and Brian Giles were douchy.  Jim Edmonds was king of douchy.

Ty Wigginton was a swell guy.  Love Ty. 

[Benjamin Grimm]

As long as he's not Lenny Dykstra.

[Centerfield]

Benge up to .757. Great defense too. 
 

Unfortunately Ewing has dropped to .705. 

[Benjamin Grimm]

Is he a Rookie of the Year candidate? I don't know what other rookies are out there. 

[MFS62]

2 hours ago, Centerfield said:

Benge up to .757. Great defense too. 
 

He is thisclose to being considered a true”five tool” player. He fields, throws and runs and just has to ratchet up the hit and power tools a bit to be in that class. 
later

[Edgy MD]

2 hours ago, Benjamin Grimm said:

Is he a Rookie of the Year candidate? I don't know what other rookies are out there. 

He's certainly a candidate, but right now, the clear leader is JJ Wetherholt of the Cardinals.

And if you want to back a Met, the smarter money is probably on McLean.

[Frayed Knot]

2 hours ago, Benjamin Grimm said:

Is he a Rookie of the Year candidate? I don't know what other rookies are out there. 

His main competition (along with Nolan McLean) will likely come from:

- StL's J.J. Weatherholt: 2nd base; 720 OPS; 16 HRs; 13-of-14 in SB (early lead but fading during July & August)

- Cincy's Sal Stewart: 1B; 816 OPS; 23 2Bs/26 HRs; league leading 91 RBI

[Edgy MD]

Here's an overview for those playing at home.

 

[Edgy MD]

Here's a broad but incomplete overview for those playing at home.

Rk	Player	Team	Age	G	PA	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	HR	RBI	SB	GP	GS	W	l	ERA	SV	IP	BB	SO	bWAR	fWAR	WPA	AVG VAL
1	JJ Wetherholt*	STL	23	117	530	.241	.347	.373	.720	16	45	13										4.4	4.1	2.12	3.54
2	Foster Griffin*	WSN	30										22	22	12	3	3.06	0	129.1	30	116	3.4	1.8	2.60	2.60
3	Carson Benge*	NYM	23	118	488	.275	.338	.419	.757	14	49	18										2.5	2.7	0.20	1.80
4	Sal Stewart	CIN	22	122	528	.261	.337	.478	.816	26	91	12										1.9	2.2	1.27	1.79
5	TJ Rumfield*	COL	26	120	483	.291	.371	.448	.819	13	59	0										2.8	1.9	0.52	1.74
6	Didier Fuentes	ATL	21										43	1	4	1	2.39	2	52.2	15	67	1.7	1.7	1.49	1.63
7	Nolan McLean	NYM	24										24	24	8	8	3.42	0	136.2	50	159	1.9	2.6	0.11	1.54
8	Esmerlyn Valdéz	PIT	22	55	217	.256	.369	.556	.924	14	41	0										1.6	1.7	1.21	1.50
9	Cole Carrigg#	COL	24	55	213	.291	.373	.484	.856	5	31	7										1.4	1.5	1.40	1.43
10	Christian Scott	NYM	27										17	17	3	3	3.45	0	78.1	33	98	1.7	1.9	0.55	1.38
11	Brandyn Garcia*	ARI	26										41	0	0	1	2.06	4	35.0	7	39	1.2	1.0	1.90	1.37
12	Andrew Alvarez*	WSN	27										18	10	2	4	3.72	1	75.0	33	69	1.4	1.7	0.80	1.30
13	A.J. Ewing*	NYM	21	83	342	.252	.324	.381	.705	7	28	16										2.3	1.4	0.16	1.29
14	Joe Mack*	MIA	23	76	243	.240	.297	.434	.731	12	36	0										1.8	2.1	-0.06	1.28
15	Logan Henderson	MIL	24										11	11	6	2	2.88	0	56.1	11	69	1.7	1.4	0.71	1.27
16	Konnor Griffin	PIT	20	59	247	.276	.332	.404	.736	5	25	20										1.7	1.2	0.21	1.04
17	Zac Thornton	NYM	24										8	8	3	3	2.78	0	45.1	13	29	1.7	0.7	0.68	1.03
18	Bubba Chandler	PIT	23										24	23	6	8	4.23	0	121.1	64	108	1.3	1.8	-0.26	0.95
19	Bradgley Rodriguez	SDP	22										51	4	3	2	2.09	1	56.0	17	59	1.4	1.4	-0.21	0.86
20	Shane Drohan*	MIL	27										24	14	6	4	3.94	1	98.1	31	98	0.6	2.0	-0.25	0.78
21	Pedro Ramírez#	CHC	22	48	136	.301	.356	.447	.803	2	15	7										1.2	0.9	-0.26	0.61
22	Cooper Pratt	MIL	21	44	159	.272	.352	.368	.720	2	17	10										1.4	1.2	-0.81	0.60
23	Bryce Eldridge*	SFG	21	80	326	.246	.337	.435	.773	13	31	1										0.9	0.6	0.15	0.55
24	Rhett Lowder	CIN	24										21	18	4	8	5.15	0	94.1	40	77	0.6	1.1	-0.21	0.50
25	Daniel Susac	SFG	25	53	161	.243	.289	.375	.664	3	22	2										0.7	1.1	-0.53	0.42
26	Alex Freeland#	LAD	24	72	223	.231	.309	.313	.622	3	19	2										0.7	0.4	0.10	0.40
27	Joshua Báez	STL	23	1	4	.750	.750	3.000	3.750	3	5	0										0.3	0.4	0.47	0.39
28	Rafael Flores	PIT	25	15	43	.297	.395	.649	1.044	4	10	0										0.5	0.5	0.14	0.38
29	Abimelec Ortiz*	WSN	24	13	37	.306	.324	.667	.991	4	8	0										0.5	0.3	0.29	0.36
30	Gabriel Hughes	COL	24										7	6	0	4	5.61	1	33.2	12	31	0.3	0.9	-0.26	0.31
31	Ryan Waldschmidt	ARI	23	58	211	.275	.332	.386	.718	2	16	6										0.8	1.0	-0.89	0.30
32	Harry Ford	WSN	23	16	55	.213	.327	.447	.774	2	7	1										0.4	0.5	-0.09	0.27
33	Robert Gasser*	MIL	27										14	14	3	5	4.54	0	73.1	19	68	0.4	0.7	-0.45	0.22
34	Wilber Dotel	PIT	23										15	0	1	4	4.71	0	28.2	13	31	0.1	0.4	0.04	0.18
35	Kyle Hurt	LAD	28										37	1	3	1	4.46	1	38.1	21	46	0.0	0.4	-0.22	0.06
36	Sung-Mun Song*	SDP	29	60	131	.207	.313	.270	.583	1	15	12										0.1	0.5	-0.58	0.01

[Edgy MD]

Check out Joshua Baez coming in at 27th on that list after ONE GAME!

[MFS62]

The Baez game:

https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/joshua-baez-becomes-first-mlb-player-to-hit-home-runs-in-first-3-career-at-bats-for-cardinals-debut-185120801.html

Later