With the 19th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Amateur Draft, the Mets selected two-way player Carson Benge out of Oklahoma State. Benge, 21 years old, splits time between relief work and the outfield. Benge is a former teammate of current Rumble Ponies two-way player Nolan McLean, who the Mets drafted out of Oklahoma State last year.
Benge is a plus-fielding outfielder who has a strong arm and likely figures into the corner outfield picture long-term. His bat figures to take him the furthest of his two positions, and being announced as an “outfielder” might be an indication of what he does in this area.
The junior posted a triple-slash of .335/.444/.665 for the year with 18 homers and 64 RBIs. The left-handed hitter owns solid raw power for his frame and still has room to grow into his body. However, some consider that he needs swing work, to address the high ground ball rate, to be able to fully tap into his raw power. However, if things break right for the former Cowboy, he could wind up a five-tool player.
One of Benge’s best tools is his advanced approach, which helped carry him to one of the best offensive seasons in the Big 12 conference. His bat speed is strong, but if he can let pitches travel further into the hitting zone and drive more, his power, mixed with his approach, can become his calling card.
On the mound, he posted a 3.16 ERA over 37 innings with 44 strikeouts and a 1.00 WHIP. His fastball sits in the low-90 mph range and can top out at 95 mph, but his game speed sits between 91-93 mph. His future in the major leagues as a pitcher would be as a relief pitcher, which would obviously carry strong value if he is also a solid bat.
His fastball, mixed with a decent slider and changeup combination, made him useful as a back-end reliever. However, skepticism around his fastball exists, and if his fastball cannot translate, his pitching career might not make it far into the professionals.
“I would at least like a shot,” Benge said on both hitting and pitching. “Like to be able to do both, why not, it’s there. If one or the other suffers or my body can’t handle it then I’ll know, I’ll know it’s time to set down one or the other.”
Like his former teammate and now fellow Mets Prospect, McClean, Benge has shown plus stuff on the mound and at the box. Here is what Benge had to say when asked if the Mets had given him permission to pursue both passions.
“I’m pretty sure really they’ve been pretty open to it; a lot of teams have, but I guess we’ll still have to see.”
Benge marks the first draft selection under the tenure of new Mets’ draft leads president of baseball operations David Stearns and vice president of amateur scouting Kris Gross. Gross oversaw the drafting of an incredible 53 major leaguers during his stint in Houston as the team’s draft lead.
The slot for the 19th overall selection is $4,219,200. New York’s final pick of Sunday night is in round two at 46th overall.
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