Mets first-round draft pick from 2024 is making up for 2023 choice's struggles

It’s only 14 games but already New York Mets first-round draft pick Carson Benge looks like he’s going to have an abbreviated stint in the minor leagues. He’s playing out his first professional season with the St. Lucie Mets where he has shown there is more value to a college education than the degree. Benge is right there, if not better, than the competition. 

His 3 hits on Saturday was the third time already he has posted a trio of hits. It helped snap a streak of four hitless games.

Boasting a .294/.438/.471 slash line in his first 64 plate appearances with a pair of home runs, it’s a much different result than what we’ve seen out of the previous year’s first-round selection, Colin Houck.

2024 Mets first round pick Carson Benge is soaring while the 2023 selection Colin Houck is snoring

Houck is on the verge of becoming completely forgotten after only one full professional season. He has now accumulated 471 plate appearances in St. Lucie. The result has been a .206/.304/.306 slash line with 5 home runs.

The biggest issue for Houck has been simply putting the bat on the ball. His 49 walks are appropriate. However, his 171 strikeouts is insane. It’s a strikeout rate of 36% per plate appearance and 42% per at-bat if you really want to rub it in.

A major difference between these two is age. With more birthday candles on the cake, comes increased experience. Benge played college ball while Houck came straight out of high school. There’s also a difference in being drafted 19th overall (Benge) and 32nd (Houck).

Houck is the epitome of a young project having spent a large part of his year trying to learn third base in addition to manning shortstop. The third base project hasn’t gone too well. His .849 fielding percentage attests to this. He’ll turn 20 at the end of September so as rough of a go as it has been for him, the Mets aren’t about to panic anytime soon. If there’s one thing we relearn each year, it’s not to count young players out.

Benge is much further ahead than Houck and should spend significant time in Double-A as soon as next season. A month or two in Brooklyn should give the Mets a clearer vision of his pathway to the majors. Despite being the freshest first round pick in the organization, his days in collegiate ball give him some seasoning others didn’t get. Jett Williams is still only 20. Ryan Clifford and Alex Ramirez are 21, just like Benge.

The Mets haven’t held back their better prospects who’ve put up the numbers. Brandon Sproat is already at Triple-A because he earned it. Could Benge finish off the 2025 season in Triple-A? He isn’t setting records down on the farm, but he’s certainly proving he can handle himself. Why not give the kid a challenge?