Carson Benge Has Been The Vital Point The Mets Needed
- Dominic Konareski
- 7 minutes ago
- 2 min read
The New York Mets have been the epicenter of all negative New York sports media since Opening Day. Despite all the early-season losing, negative headlines and injuries, one player has stood the test.
Carson Benge is coming off of his first 5-for-5 game, which saw him propel New York to a 7-3 win Sunday over the Padres. Benge hit a wall-scraper home run, a triple and accounted for three total runs in the winning effort. The all-around offensive effort by the 23-year-old raised his batting average to .265 on the season, keeping him atop of Mets qualified batting average players of those who have appeared in 50+ games.
This was the first 5-5 performance that the Mets have seen since Francisco Lindor in 2023. This is also the first 5-hit performance by a Mets rookie since Pete Alonso in 2019. The performance by the rookie also makes him one of the youngest in Mets franchise history to do so.
Benge overall has been a vital part of New York and his 1.1 WAR showcases it. Throughout all the ups-and-downs this season, Benge has not succumbed to any pressure in his rookie campaign. He has dealt with slumps and 0-for’s, but it is nothing out of the ordinary for a rookie ballplayer.
His 26 RBIs rank third on the team, but 52 strikeouts rank an unfortunate second. Benge has K’d 52-times compared to 17 walks, contributing to OBP% of .325 in what is part of an overall .733 OPS.
Benge’s offensive contributions and defense has steadily improved since game 1/162, making him a legitimate candidate for National League Rookie of the Year.
Although it’s still somewhat early in the season pre-All-star break, the Mets will look to build their momentum around Benge as they come off of a fairly difficult road trip that saw them balance around .500%.
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