DENVER -- As recently as two weeks ago, things were not going well for Carson Benge. On the morning of April 23, the rookie outfielder was batting .136 with a .416 OPS. While he was doing his share defensively, Benge looked like a player in need of additional seasoning at Triple-A Syracuse. If not for injuries rippling across the Mets’ roster, he might have already been there.
Then, something changed. Something clicked. Since April 23, Benge has been on a heater both at the plate and in the field. He followed Sunday’s “pulchritudinous” catch in Anaheim with another fine one to rob Tyler Freeman of an RBI extra-base hit in the third inning Monday, then Benge homered to break up Tomoyuki Sugano’s no-hit bid in the sixth inning of a 4-2 win over the Rockies.
Over his last 11 games, Benge is batting .303 with a .906 OPS.
"I’ve been impressed with how he’s handled the whole situation -- how steady he’s been, how professional, how mature he’s been,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Those are some really good signs from a young player, especially getting a taste at the big league level for the first time.”
Benge’s homer sparked a breakout sixth for the Mets, who recorded three consecutive extra-base hits, including an RBI double from Luis Torrens. After Sugano departed, Mark Vientos continued his own hot hitting with a two-run single, upping his RBI total to six over his last two games.
It helped that Mendoza pulled the right strings with his pitching staff at Coors Field, opening the game with right-handers Huascar Brazobán and Austin Warren before turning to lefty David Peterson in a bulk relief role. Peterson, who vowed to improve after his latest poor start last week at Citi Field, retired the first 11 batters he faced to keep the afternoon relatively stress-free for the Mets.
About the only anxiety came from Benge himself, who tripped and fell in pursuit of a Jordan Beck RBI triple in the seventh. For that reason, Benge quipped, his earlier catch of Freeman’s liner won’t go on his highlight reel.
“Because I fell on my face,” Benge said. “Those cancel out.”
These days, Benge can laugh about his mistakes, because the reality is that a single poor play cannot, in fact, void what he’s contributed. That wasn’t the case early, when Benge -- after breaking camp with the Mets thanks to a strong Grapefruit League showing and even hitting his first career homer on Opening Day -- almost immediately fell flat, at one point slipping into an 0-for-24 funk.
The Mets never considered sending him back to Triple-A Syracuse, a person familiar with personnel discussions said, which makes sense. With Juan Soto on the injured list during much of Benge’s early slide, and Jared Young quick to follow, the Mets didn’t exactly have a plethora of more reliable outfield options. The team brought in Tommy Pham for a time, only to designate him for assignment after nine unproductive games.
Injuries on the infield forced the Mets to play Brett Baty there instead of at a corner outfield spot. A more recent injury to Luis Robert Jr. opened regular playing time for Benge in center.
Even when Benge wasn’t hitting, he was at least providing steady defense at all three outfield positions. But Mets officials held out hope that the organization’s top overall prospect would eventually hit, as he did throughout a 131-game Minor League career that saw Benge produce an .857 OPS.
"Even when it was really, really hard for him, I never sensed any type of panicking,” Mendoza said. “He handled it pretty well. He continues to show a lot of good signs on and off the field.”
The first signs of a turnaround surfaced with better at-bats toward the middle of April, resulting in a cache of walks. Some scattered singles followed, then a homer on April 23 amidst a series of multihit efforts. Then, in consecutive games on Sunday and Monday, Benge went 2-for-4 with a double, a homer, three walks, three runs scored and a pair of highlight-reel catches.
Some players take years to adjust to the Major Leagues, some require weeks, others need no time at all. For Benge, the adjustment period apparently lasted a bit more than a month. He says he’s playing freer now than he did in early April.
"You just go out there and your mind’s blank,” Benge said. “You play the game as hard as you can, not worrying about anything. It’s just a good feeling.”