How Mets rookie won a job — and clubhouse — this spring: ‘He’s elite’
· Yahoo Sports
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Francisco Lindor was once in Carson Benge’s shoes.
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Lindor was also a first-round pick and No. 1 prospect, climbing up to the big leagues with an organization enduring a lengthy championship drought.
For Lindor, that was more than a decade ago in Cleveland. As the Mets’ starting shortstop now enters his 12th year in the big leagues, he’s been around long enough to have seen countless hot-shot prospects get the call and try to live up to the hype.
So, what does Lindor think of Benge — the Mets’ new starting right fielder — after observing him at Mets camp?
“The Mets got this one right, for sure,” Lindor told NJ.com. “He’s elite.”
Benge was told that he made the Mets’ Opening Day roster on Monday, one day after the club’s final exhibition game of the spring. The news didn’t come as a surprise. It was clear for much of the Mets’ Grapefruit League slate that Benge had positioned himself to win the right field job.
From the offseason, it felt like this was Benge’s job to lose. All he did after reporting to camp was go out and earn it, shining between the lines against big-league competition while making a lasting impression with his new teammates off the field.
“He’s going to excel at this level, I have no doubt,” Lindor said.
Every other Met that NJ.com spoke to about Benge during the final few days of camp agreed.
“I’ve been impressed,” third baseman Bo Bichette said. “I’ve seen him do everything at the plate. I think the more experience he gets, the better he’ll be. He has all the tools. I’m excited to see what he can do.”
“He’s a complete player,” reliever Luke Weaver added. “He obviously has a huge future ahead of him. Seems very dynamic, an explosive athlete. He seems like a playmaker too, somebody who can run it down out there. Good instincts.”
Benge led the Mets in hits in Grapefruit League play (15), batting .366 in 14 games. While most of Benge’s hits this spring were singles — his slugging percentage (.439) was just four points higher than his on-base percentage (.435) — he churned out quality at-bats, grinding deep into counts with an ability to put the ball in play and hit to all fields.
Lindor singled out the way Benge handled himself with two strikes, how he’s able to slow the game down and make adjustments on the fly.
“That’s what’s going to help him be at this level for a long time,” Lindor said.
Watch "Carson Benge vs. Nolan McLean in intrasquad at Mets camp" on YouTubeWatchThis is a player with a self-proclaimed hatred for striking out. That has been clear for each at-bat. Bench sports a calmness in the box that matches the phenom’s temperament. He’ll be tested right away with Pirates ace and reigning Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes in his first big-league at-bat on Thursday.
“Confidence makes you calm,” said Jared Young, who finished camp with his locker next to Benge in the Mets’ clubhouse at Clover Park. “He’s a confident kid. You watch the way he plays and it’s kind of just who he is.
“What’s sick about him is that he leans into that. He doesn’t play scared. He plays free and plays to his strengths.”
In the outfield, Benge looked the part. There were highlight-reel plays and glimpses of arm strength that will make opposing players think twice before trying to take an extra base. Not too long ago, Benge was a two-play player at Oklahoma State with an upper-90s fastball on the mound.
“He’s super athletic, very gifted,” outfielder Tyrone Taylor said. “You see him out there, the jumps he gets, the speed he has. If he doesn’t get a good jump, it plays. I think it’s special.”
Bichette used the word “fearlessness” to describe Benge’s game.
Asked if one part of Benge’s game resonated the most this spring, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza couldn’t pick.
“His overall game,” Mendoza said. “He looks like a big leaguer.”
On Thursday, he’ll officially be one.
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