Carson Benge Makes Opening Day Roster

Per Mike Puma of the New York Post, Carson Benge has made the Mets’ Opening Day Roster and will join the team in Queens as their right fielder.

It is easy to point to his .366/.435/.439/.874 spring training line to justify his call-up, but he also showed a lot under the hood that should help him excel in the majors.

• 91.5% zone contact (89th percentile)
• 17.3% whiff rate (85th percentile)
• 110.8 miles per hour max exit velocity (77th percentile)
• 18.4% strikeout rate (64th percentile)
• 26.2% chase rate (56th percentile)
• 105.6 miles per hour 90% exit velocity (51st percentile)

To put it plainly, Carson Benge showed that he was a tough hitter to pitch to. Almost every at-bat, he put up a fight, drawing long counts and showing off his plus contact rates. He did not swing and miss much, and he put the ball in play. He began to walk more as spring progressed, ending at a respectable 8.2% walk rate.

There are still some areas for him to improve during the season. He did not pull a single fly ball in the air in spring, though his style of play, dating back to college, has largely relied on driving the ball to the opposite field. Benge also ran a 71.9% ground ball rate, which he will likely look to clean up and get closer to the 42.5% rate he put up in Triple-A.

It’s important to note these stats are just a small sample size compared to the simulated games, batting practices and various drills the Mets saw Benge partake in during spring.

Manager Carlos Mendoza already explained that the Mets are not concerned about his power because they witnessed it across other parts of spring training. Mets’ hitting coaches Jeff Albert and Troy Snitker likely have a hitting plan for Benge to help him continue to develop and improve throughout the season.

14 of Benge’s 46 PA (30.4%) came against left-handed pitching this spring, with the majority of them coming against major league pitchers, including Ryan Weathers, Matthew Liberatore, and Josh Fleming. While he did not hit the ball as hard against southpaws, he still put up a plus 86.4% zone contact rate, 20% whiff rate, 19.5% chase rate and 18.8% strikeout rate. From this small sample size, there seems to be little concern about needing to platoon for him regularly.

Defensively, Benge looked stellar in right field. He covered a lot of ground and made tough plays, including an out in his final game that looked like a clear hit. Manager Carlos Mendoza described Benge as a player with “good jumps” in addition to his plus throwing arm.

While Benge is still a rookie and may have growing pains as he adjusts to the majors, he is an exciting and dynamic player to watch as he brings some youth into a clubhouse full of established veterans.

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