Mets Should Have An Action Plan To Help Alleviate Carson Benge's Slow MLB Start

[Andres Chavez]

Image courtesy of © Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Carson Benge is one of the best prospects in baseball, owner of consensus top-20 status in the league. With 15 home runs, 22 stolen bases, and a 150 wRC+ last year in the minors across three levels, he seemed ready for stardom. Until he wasn’t.

Before taking the field on Wednesday, Benge was slashing a paltry .091/.211/.182 with a 24 wRC+ and a 28.9 percent strikeout rate. That’s certainly not what the New York Mets would have wanted for his first few weeks as a major leaguer, but truth be told, this outcome was always within the realm of possibilities.

It’s important to note that it hasn’t been all negative, though. The dynamic outfielder has stolen four bases in four tries and boasts a solid 13.2 percent walk rate, which ranks him in the 76th percentile among all qualified hitters. The pieces are there, but the puzzle has yet to be put together.

Carson Benge Requires Patience After Just 24 Triple-A Games Last Year

Yes, Benge won a spot on the Mets’ Opening Day roster fair and square with a strong spring that saw him post a 140 wRC+ in 46 trips to the plate. Yet. some people conveniently forget that he struggled to the tune of a 53 wRC+ in a short Triple-A cameo in 2025 that lasted 24 games.

There’s a non-zero chance that Benge is not ready for the majors as of this moment, but there is also an even bigger likelihood that his current struggles are part of an adjustment period that could end relatively soon. Which one is it? Well, we are going to need more data, but with young players like him, every day represents an opportunity to learn.

Unfortunately, the Mets need him after losing Juan Soto to a calf strain that sent him to the injured list. Their current outfield picture is comprised of Benge, Luis Robert Jr., Tyrone Taylor, Jared Young, and Brett Baty. That’s not ideal, even though some of them are actually producing, and the team won four in a row after losing Soto.

The Mets have no choice but to be very patient with Benge. He does need to start showing something, though. The 23-year-old will swing at pitches out of the zone, but his 49th percentile chase rate is not a huge problem. Additionally, his 52nd percentile whiff rate is merely average, but also not a huge concern. What's the problem, then?

Basically, three specific, separate situations: Making contact at pitches inside the zone, an excessive amount of ground balls, and issues against the fastball.

Benge ranks 147th out of 188 qualified hitters with his 80.4 percent Z-contact%, which means that he hasn't been able to do much with pitches in the zone to this point. Pitchers will keep challenging him until he can, and if he can't adjust, his walk rate may start plummeting as a result, depriving him off his most useful attribute so far (getting on base).

Carson Benge Must Adjust To MLB Fastballs

His issues against fastballs are perhaps more worrisome. Benge has managed a meager hit in 17 plate appearances that finished with a four-seamer, with a .256 xwOBA that ranked him 153rd among 195 players with a minimum of 10 plate appearances ending with the pitch.

He is, however, slowly making strides in that department. Here's a nicely hit batted ball that should have gone for extra-bases in the series opener against the Diamondbacks:

In that game, he had two hard-hit balls, including the one in the video above. One of them left his bat at 95.2 mph, and the other one at 99.8 mph. Perhaps a bit of patience will do the trick, because the tools are definitely there.

That being said, only 14 of 188 qualified hitters had a higher ground ball rate than Benge's 59.1 percent. By now, we all know that hitting the ball on the ground so often doesn't lead to desirable outcomes. He was never billed as a 30-homer threat, but getting the ball in the air more frequently will alleviate longer-term concerns about his slugging impact.

In totality, Benge definitely has things to work on as he develops into a reliable major-league producer. Consider, however, that he probably needed more time in Triple-A before declaring him a bust. Benge remains a highly promising player despite struggling right out of the gate, and ten early games of subpar production won't change that. Can he help the Mets in the short term, though? That's something he'll have to prove in the coming weeks.

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