Cory Sparks

Image courtesy of © Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images We have a decent sample size to start Carson Benge’s major league career now, and after a rough first handful of games, there is a lot to be optimistic about. Let’s dive into Benge’s strengths, what numbers are really popping out, and what he still needs to work on as he progresses through his rookie campaign. Carson Benge's Background To give a little more context on Benge, this is another example of somebody who sprinted up through the Minor League Baseball ranks. The Oklahoma State alum, who went to the same college as Nolan McLean, was the 19th pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. He cracked the big league Opening Day roster, and so far this season he’s sporting a batting average around .250, an on-base percentage just above .300, and looks to be a pretty well-rounded outfielder in the Big Apple. Hard-Hit Balls Where is Benge excelling? Quality of contact is a big area to look at early on. His average exit velocity is hovering around the 90 miles per hour mark, putting him in the top half among big-league hitters. His expected batting average of .265 implies that he’s hit into a decent amount of bad luck as well. Benge also has a knack for finding the right part of the bat, as shown by his above-average squared-up and hard-hit rates. Making Contact Benge, the former two-way standout, also has shown great plate discipline. He hasn’t ventured outside of the zone much, as his 27.0% chase percentage is well better than the league average. He hasn’t come up empty much either, as the 23-year-old right fielder whiffs just 19.8% of the time, putting him in the top 25% of all hitters. Benge has sprayed the ball pretty much all over the field, though all three of his long balls in 2026 have gone to the pull side in deep right center field. Benge’s blistering speed has come in handy to this point as well. His top 20% sprint speed helps him on the basepaths, and he has eight stolen bags on the young season to show for it. The hustle shows in the outfield as well, leading to above-average marks in right field. Arm Strength Another plus to Benge’s game, also referencing his value in right, is his legendary arm strength. This is arguably the most impressive thing about the 23-year-old, as his arm strength is rated in the top percentile of all outfielders. This is someone who can do a little bit of everything, and while I wouldn’t quite say he’s at five-tool player status yet, he’s certainly multi-faceted. Area for Improvement: Patience One aspect for the young left-handed hitter to work on would be his ability to draw walks. While he isn’t chasing a ton, this is someone walking just 7.0% of the time. That is well below the league average in the 25th percentile. Again, it’s not that he’s venturing out of the zone a whole lot. This is more or less an indicator that Benge is looking for something over the plate early, and doesn’t have much of a desire to work deep into counts. Sometimes, for a rookie, it’s best to keep the art of an at-bat simple. If it’s a matter of looking for a first-pitch fastball, so be it. One other aspect to work on is success of opposing pitchers’ secondary stuff, as Benge is hitting just .172 against off-speed offerings with a single extra-base hit in 30 batted ball events. View full article

Carson Benge is quickly turning into one of the brighter young stars in the 2026 MLB rookie class. The New York Mets' right fielder is hitting just over .250 and is hitting the ball relatively hard. In this video, we will dive into his average exit velocity and overall approach to start off the season. View full video

Jonah Tong is the New York Mets' no. 2 overall prospect. After struggling upon his big league call-up last year, the hard-throwing righty is getting a second chance to prove to the Big Apple that he can be a starter in this league. In this video, we'll break down what Tong needs to fine-tune to stick around this time. View full video

Image courtesy of © Sam Navarro-Imagn Images Jonah Tong is one of the league’s brightest young stars, and the New York Mets have decided to call the 22-year-old up to the big leagues for the second time in as many seasons. Let’s break down his background, arsenal, strengths and what he needs to do to remain a major league hurler this time around. Jonah Tong’s Background Jonah Tong is the second-ranked prospect in the Mets’ system, behind recently called-up contact speedster in A.J. Ewing. The hard-throwing righty is 6-foot-1, 180 pounds and was a seventh-round draft pick back in 2022. Tong proactively got himself some scouting looks by moving to the Georgia Premier Academy and MLB Draft league the year he got his name called. After a couple of years climbing the Mets’ farm system, he earned 2025 MLB Pipeline Pitching Prospect of the Year honors after pacing MiLB in earned run average and strikeouts while tossing north of 100 innings between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse. Tong's Arsenal What is the 22-year-old working with? He leads the way with a lively, 70-grade fastball. The primary offering has continued to collect steam, riding in the 94-97 mph range in 2025. His second-best option is a changeup that he changed to a vulcan grip, where he straddles the horseshoe part of the laces on the ball. This allows him to get more lateral movement to the arm-side and gives the ball more of a sinking motion. This is something that had a whiff rate of north of 50% in the minor leagues. He also sports a curveball and slider to round out what is a four-pitch mix for the time being. Strengths Tong’s strength is his velocity and ability to manipulate the baseball to get ahead in counts. Splitting the fastball and changeup off of each other gave hitting prospects a world of trouble, and he was able to use his above-average extension of 6.8 feet to speed things up on batters even more. This is someone who uses a combination of deception and count leverage to mow his way through the opposing team’s lineup. Overall, in a day and age where velocity and arm-side ride is key, Tong has the raw skillset to be a successful starter in the Big Apple for years to come. Weaknesses While Tong has the intangibles to be a promising arm at the biggest stage, there are still a couple of aspects to iron out. After all, this is somebody who got rung up for a 7.71 earned run average and had a .312 opposing batting average over 18.2 innings of work with the team last year. What led to the rough baptism by fire? Tong’s mechanics lend to some reason for concern towards a repeatable, consistent motion. This could lead to wavering command, above-average walks and more hard-hit balls than he can afford. The over-reliance on his heater also led to some issues. In his 2026 Mets debut, he threw that four-seamer 61% of the time. Between the fastball and the changeup, he used his top two options 86% of the time. That’s how someone becomes predictable and may start to profile as more of a reliever if the ratio doesn’t change. Outlook What does Tong’s outlook look like? I think, considering he has a 52-degree arm angle, which is really steep, the more he develops his curveball, the better. When a pitcher has a steeper, more up-and-down arm angle, it’s easier to get vertical drop on breaking pitches. Not only would using his full arsenal make Tong more predictable, but I think there’s a real chance for his curve to develop into an out pitch. In fact, I think that could serve as the key to making him a starter. View full article

Nolan McLean is one of baseball's biggest and brightest young talents. The former two-way prospect out of Oklahoma State is sporting a winning MLB record, an earned run average hovering around two, and looks untouchable when he's on. What separates him from the pack? We break it all down in this video about the New York Mets' starter! View full video

Image courtesy of © Brad Penner-Imagn Images It probably shouldn’t be a shock to anyone to be hearing this, especially after how he looked last year, but Nolan McLean is off to a remarkable start in 2026. Let’s take a deep dive into his advanced analytics to break down why he is giving hitters such fits, as the 24-year-old does have a unique aspect that not many others possess. Nolan McLean’s Background Nolan McLean was originally a two-way prospect out of Oklahoma State. He actually held the bat over his shoulder until he broke into the upper ranks of the Mets’ farm system, too. The guy had a decent amount of power, but he struck out a lot and started hanging out below the Mendoza line a little too much. Once he started focusing on just pitching, his stuff elevated to a whole new level. An Otherworldly Strikeout Rate McLean broke out last year, logging a 2.06 earned run average and a 5-1 record over eight starts and 41 innings. Bridging the gap between last season and this time around, the 24-year-old righty competed at the World Baseball Classic and once again looks dominant. What makes him such a promising young star? It starts with every pitcher’s favorite stat: the strikeout rate. McLean is living well above the league average, punching out 31.5 percent of the hitters he’s faced to this point. A fastball riding in at an average of just over 95 miles per hour helps, as it has plenty of arm-side movement to go with a sinker that he can break off as well. McLean sports a 32 degree arm angle, meaning he can push plenty of horizontal movement on those primary pitches. Generating Soft Contact McLean may have a high strikeout rate, but it’s no secret that everyone allows contact from time to time. Even some pitchers with high punchout totals get hit around, but does McLean? No. His average exit velocity allowed is one of the better rates in all of baseball at just 86 miles per hour. That puts him in the top 10 percent of all pitchers. He also allows a relatively low barrel percentage, and his hard-hit rate is lower than the league average to complement his assortment of proof that he knows how to control the contact game. Pitch Variety But what’s the weapon that most 24-year-old hurlers don’t have? Along with having a high-octane fastball/sinker combo, McLean is sporting a six-pitch arsenal. He spins that sinker in at 37% of the time, and then it’s a gradual decrease from using the four-seamer 18% of the time to a changeup that gets utilized on just 8% of his offerings. This is the type of arsenal you’ll see some of the elite pitchers build out as they get into their primes. Seth Lugo with the Kansas City Royals is a prime example of someone who developed a deeper arsenal as he got older. But, sometimes, you’ll get the occasional starter who has the velocity AND the mix, like a Paul Skenes or in this case, Nolan McLean. So far, the curveball is his most dangerous offering, as McLean has 22 strikeouts in 29 at-bats finished and has allowed just one hit off of it. That’s a ridiculous .034 batting average against for McLean’s curve. Four of his six offerings have an opposing batting average south of the Mendoza line. Keeping the Ball Out of the Air Is there anything to tweak with McLean’s game? You’d really have to nitpick to do it, but one thing I’ve noticed over a small sample size is a spike in line drive rate. It’s up to 29% from just 20% a season ago. Consequently, the righty has forced just a 42% ground ball rate, so opposing hitters are elevating off of him, but he has so many options and so much movement on his pitches that it still isn’t quality contact. As long as that average exit velocity stays down, he’ll continue to be one of the more dominant pitchers in today’s game. View full article

How much of a ripple effect can one person have on a struggling baseball team? Today, we are doing a deep dive into A.J. Ewing and how he can help a stumbling New York Mets squad. We break down everything from Ewing's advanced, contact-oriented approach to the 70-grade speed that jumps off the page among his fellow prospects. View full video