Aug 19, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets right fielder Carson Benge (3) reacts to hitting a two run home run against the San Diego Padres during the fourth inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
QUEENS, NY — Carson Benge won Monday’s series opener against the San Diego Padres with his arm, then helped the Mets win the rubber game on Wednesday with the bat.
The rookie right fielder continues to scorch on both sides of the ball, hitting his 15th home run of the season, a two-run shot, in the fourth inning off Michael King to spark New York’s 4-2 victory — its 11th win in the last 15 games.
On the seventh pitch of his fourth-inning at-bat against King, who had mowed down the Mets (58-70) through three perfect frames on just 31 pitches, Benge took a tailing sinker away and poked it 356 feet just inside the left-field foul pole.
“I thought it was foul at first,” Benge said. “Then I saw it kind of not going foul. So I figured not a lot of balls that are hit that way by a lefty kind of get out. So I had to get on my horse a little bit.”
With it, he became just the second rookie in Mets history to record 15 home runs and 15 steals, joining Darryl Strawberry in 1983, a year in which he won National League Rookie of the Year.
Peculiarly enough, Benge has been an afterthought in Rookie of the Year talks this season behind JJ Wetherholt of the St. Louis Cardinals and Sal Stewart of the Cincinnati Reds despite being the better all-around player.
Since June 18 (51 games) has an .829 OPS, recording eight home runs with 25 RBI. He now has a .752 OPS and 109 OPS+ for the season. He ranks 3rd among qualified NL rookies in home runs, second with 18 stolen bases, and third in OPS.
“I feel good, feeling in a good spot,” Benge said. “I feel like I’m on time with just about every pitch, seeing the ball well. So it’s a good place to be.”
Those figures are better than Wetherholt’s numbers (.717, 105), though he catapulted to the top of Rookie of the Year conversations thanks to a hot start. But since May 1, he’s batting .239 with a .678 OPS.
In Cincinnati, Stewart has the bigger bat with 26 home runs and 91 RBI, but his fielding run value ranks in MLB’s 35th percentile. Not only is Benge in the 70th percentile in that metric, but his arm value is in the 95th, and his arm strength is in the 99th. It was on full display in Monday night’s 2-1 win over San Diego when he cut a pair of Padres down at the plate on consecutive plays in the first inning with throws of 99.9 mph and 103.9 mph — the hardest throw by a fielder this season.
Simply put, this is not a two-horse race between Wetherholt and Stewart, and Major League Baseball should plan accordingly.
“He just plays baseball. He doesn’t complicate life,” interim manager Andy Green said. “You give him a fastball away, he’ll shoot it the other way, and sometimes he’ll get under it and hit out of the ballpark, and the sometimes he’ll drive it for a single. Just keeps playing baseball… He has fun and there’s something special about a kid that can handle what the world sees as a lot of pressure and just play and have fun, and then the God-given talent shows up.”
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