Unknown NY Mets prospect with an outrageous .908 OPS deserves your attention

Only Juan Soto has the at-bats to qualify for having a better OPS than this unknown New York Mets prospect. Signed back in March out of the Independent Leagues, JT Benson deserves your attention.

The 24-year-old outfielder is still in Triple-A, a little older than his peers, but the numbers are superior to many others within the system. Slashing .275/.363/.545 with 11 home runs and 18 stolen bases, Benson is slowly becoming a candidate to move up the ladder further and follow Jonathan Pintaro’s lead as a random find from unaffiliated ball who becomes a legitimate prospect.

Mets prospect JT Benson is having one of the best seasons of any position player on the farm

Undrafted out of Louisville, Benson wasn’t a power-hitter in college. He was definitely a speedster, swiping 34 bags in his senior year.

While the speed hasn’t quite measured up in the pros, the power has arrived from the right side of the plate. Only 9 homers in 235 trips to the plate in his final year with Louisville, he’s one away from a dozen.

Benson’s 50 RBI trails only Soto and Bo Bichette within the entire organization and leads all Mets minor leaguers. Although the 80 strikeouts is a bit large, it’s not the same kind of issue it is for Ryan Clifford. It’s only a 27% clip which, with this power and ability to produce runs, is acceptable. Clifford is almost 10% more per plate appearance. By contrast, Benson’s strikeout rate is far less alarming.

Of course, at 24 and only in Single-A, Benson isn’t exactly screaming to join the list of future candidates to join the Mets. Nonetheless, the performance is eye-catching.

David Stearns has regularly dipped into the Independent League for some help. Pintaro is the biggest success who has made it to the majors and performed well. At 28, he’s even more advanced than Benson. The advantage for Pintaro is he’s a pitcher and we know how much the Stearns-led Mets need about 40 of them to get through a season.

Many top Mets prospects have underachieved this season and there’s no defending the results. With Benson, the Mets are reminding us there are always some unexpected and pleasant surprises. In fact, two of their more powerful prospects were undrafted, Chris Suero and John Bay. Suero began the year as a top 30 prospect while Bay, with an .818 OPS in High-A, is working his way into the conversation.

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