Mets prospect Carson Benge has throwback approach when at the plate: 'I hate striking out'
Mets outfield prospect Carson Benge during a spring training workout on Feb. 12 in Port St. Lucie, Fla. Credit: Newsday/Alejandra Villa Loarca
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. – Striking out isn’t really that bad. Or at least that’s the general take these days.
Sure, no one wants to make an out, but they’re no more harmful than, say, a pop out. You don’t have to worry about a double play unless the runner on base is veering too far off the bag, and, if you’re maximizing home run potential, bailing out and swinging for the fences might just be the move.
And then there’s Carson Benge.
“I hate striking out,” he said after going 3-for-3 in the Mets' 6-0 loss to the Cardinals at Clover Park Wednesday. And then again, later: “Anything not to strike out,” he said. “Putting the ball in play is good. Things will happen.”
And you want to know what? That seems to be working for Benge just fine.
The Mets prospect, whom president of baseball operations David Stearns said had a real shot at making the Opening Day roster, is quickly compiling a spring training resume that matches his glowing scouting report. After starting the season with Brooklyn last year, he slashed .281/.385/.472 between High-A, Double-A and Triple-A , with a more than respectable 17.7 strikeout percentage – something made more impressive by how quickly he adapted to superior pitchers.
That alone has put him in the Opening Day conversation, though the Mets have a few people competing for the starting rightfield role, including Tyrone Taylor, who will almost certainly make the roster in some capacity, Mike Tauchman, and MJ Melendez.
Manager Carlos Mendoza said that when it came to Benge’s at-bats, he was most impressed “with his ability to stay in the fight – especially when he gets behind in counts.”
It’s “his ability to foul off pitches and then use the whole field and put the ball in play,” Mendoza said. “His bat-to-ball skills [are good]. We saw it today. He just finds a way…He probably missed some good fastballs to hit, but even though he got behind in the count, he was able to stay in the fight.”
That was most evident in the fifth, when Benge fell behind 1-and-2 before grinding out a 10-pitch at-bat that ended in a single to right. The lefty singled to left in the third, and smacked a fastball high over the strike zone in the first for an infield single. He can pepper the ball to all fields, has good strike zone awareness, and doesn’t wilt against offspeed and breaking pitches.
“I just like to be able to fight for every pitch,” Benge said.
Asked if he understood the modern take on strikeouts – the one that says that, while not ideal, they’re really just fine, Benge didn’t budge.
“Not really,” he said. “I just try to go in there and fight every AB. I’m not trying to give something away by taking a dumb swing.”
It’s a streamlined approach, but one that’s serving him well so far.
Tong tunes up
Jonah Tong, showcasing his new cutter, allowed three runs on three hits with a walk and two strikeouts over 2 2/3 innings in his spring training debut; all the runs came on Nolan Gorman’s third-inning homer.
“I felt like we went in there with a clear gameplan and continued [my] development,” Tong said. “I really liked the usage of that cutter, even though my last one [to Gorman] got hit a little bit. I’m just happy with how things are progressing…I pride myself in using it as much as possible. I think the value of live reps like this today are probably the most important thing going forward. So being able to take those [reps] and keep pushing, I think we’re in a really good spot with it.”
Added Mendoza: “I think it was OK. It’s a good learning and development experience…He’s not a fastball-changeup pitcher anymore. Now he’s got some other weapons he could use and today was a perfect example of it.”
Extra bases
Francisco Lindor, recovering from surgery to address a broken hamate bone in his left hand, had his stitches removed Tuesday and will likely begin “impact” baseball activities later in the week, Mendoza said… Francisco Alvarez made his spring training debut Wednesday, DHing and hitting third – part of a continued attempt to protect a catcher that routinely was battered last year. Alvarez will catch in a four-inning sim game Thursday and be behind the plate on Saturday against the Nationals.
Laura Albanese is the Mets beat writer for Newsday. She's been covering MLB since 2014 after starting at Newsday as an intern seven years earlier.
