A way too early discussion about Carson Benge’s NY Mets future

Carson Benge threw out the eggs in his batting average on Wednesday. A chopper to the left side followed by a liner to left gave him his first two hits of spring training. He added a third hit that squeezed past the second baseman. He’s trying to make the New York Mets roster out of camp. More of this can go a long way toward the ball club viewing him as their starting right fielder and more in the coming year.

Will these hits go down in Mets spring training lore like Luis Guillore’s 1-million pitch walk or catching a bat in the air with his bare hand? Not even close. There was nothing incredibly special about Benge, but with those first two hits, we got a glimpse of what he looks like when he is successful at the plate.

If Benge makes the team, he’s a lock to hit at the bottom of the order. In this game he got first ups. Hmm. Is Francisco Lindor’s time batting first on short notice?

Carson Benge has a lot of the tools you want from a leadoff hitter

Power is one of those parts of Benge’s game that hasn’t fully launched. He hit 15 home runs last year in 519 plate appearances. It’s a decent total yet not nearly enough to proclaim him a future challenger for Pete Alonso’s home run record. Hitting over .300 in Brooklyn and again in Binghamton can’t be understated for a player in his first full professional season. The power numbers are tough to determine because as a lefty, hitting only 4 in Brooklyn over 271 plate appearances is tough. That ballpark would have Mickey Mantle giving up switch hitting.

His 22 stolen bases last year significantly outpaced what he did in college. The game is played differently at those levels, but he no doubt has speed to show off.

A .280/.389/.468 hitter thus far since getting drafted by the Mets, Benge has shown a high ability to put the ball in play, draw walks, and create havoc on the bases. Those numbers, if ever translated at the major league level, feel much more akin to what you’d want from a leadoff hitter than what Lindor does.

Pushing Lindor up in the Mets lineup in 2024 was the catalyst that helped spark their season. He ended up with 25 starts in the number two hole, one hitting third, and the rest of his games as the leadoff hitter. Batting in front of Juan Soto undoubtedly helped at times. But Lindor, with legs that’ll age him out of being a threat to steal 30 bases regularly at some point and proven power, he seems to belong well in the middle of the order.

Kids like Benge need to prove themselves to get a significant spot in anyone’s lineup. The Mets, batting him in front of Soto on Wednesday, didn’t do anything more than get a glance at what the future may indeed look like.

With a threesome of Lindor, Soto, and the capabilities Benge can provide, you can’t really go wrong with how you order them. Breaking up the lefties is inconsequential although the end result could always look something like Benge-Lindor-Soto.

If everything we’ve been told about Benge comes true, he’s going to have a significant role in the Mets lineup by 2027. Burying him in the bottom is always on the table. At his peak, he seems like the leadoff hitter you’d build in a lab.

Not convinced? Benge hates doing the one thing leadoff hitters should do as little as possible.