Carson

Benge

Benge keeps on hitting. He smacked his home run over 400 feet to the opposite field and it was one of three hard-hit balls he had on the day. That was also his 10th home run to go along with 11 stolen bases and a .259 batting average, which is sensational considering the fact that he was barely even hitting his weight through the first month of the season. Over the last 30 days, he has a .286/.333/.516 slash line with seven home runs as one of the best kept secrets in fantasy baseball because of much that first month is weight down his season-long stat line.

Robert has been on the shelf with a herniated disc in his back since late April. The 28-year-old center fielder’s impending return will complicate New York’s outfield mix, especially since rookie A.J. Ewing has been tearing the cover off the ball recently. The logical move would be to allow Juan Soto to get some extra time at DH with Ewing and fellow rookie Carson Benge in the outfield corners once he’s back. He’ll likely require at least a week or two of minor league at-bats to get back up to speed following the lengthy layoff. The durability concerns aren’t going away, but it wouldn’t be surprising if Robert were an impactful fantasy contributor during the second half based on his raw talent and track record.

Benge connected for an opposite-field homer off Zack Wheeler in the third inning, which was an impressive piece of hitting. The rookie outfielder has come a long way after a rough April, with much of it coming out of the leadoff spot. It’s a storyline to follow with Francisco Lindor (calf) on the verge of returning from the injured list this week.

Benge’s home run was his eighth of the season. He hit a two-run shot off Max Lazar in the seventh inning. Benge got a fastball he liked on the inner half of the plate and deposited it 420 feet into the upper deck in right field. It would’ve been a home run in all 30 ballparks. Benge is hitting .257 with a .709 OPS and 28 RBI.

Ewing is hitting .278 (10-for-36) with zero homers and three steals in 10 games since the start of June. The 21-year-old top prospect never projected as much of a power threat and he’s gone deep just once through 29 games. He does have seven steals during that span. It’ll be fellow rookie Carson Benge moving over to cover center field with MJ Melendez getting into the lineup to face Atlanta lefty Martín Pérez.

Benge has his best major league game to date for a second time in a week. The first was when he homered twice against the Mariners on Tuesday. This one was probably more fulfilling, since it came in a victory. It raised his average from .248 to .265 and his OPS from .682 to .733. Benge’s balls in play ranged from 94.9 mph to 106.4 mph, which produced a 389-foot homer. The triple, on a grounder that made it into the right field corner, was his first as a major leaguer.

Benge put the Mets on the board with a two-run homer off Logan Gilbert in the third inning. He did it again in the sixth, taking Gilbert deep for a second time with a leadoff blast, driving in all three runs for the Mets. Benge later drew a walk in the eighth. It was the first career multi-homer game for the 23-year-old outfielder. He’s homered three times in the last three games and is up to six with nine steals while slashing .254/.320/.385 across 225 plate appearances.

The rookie hit a solo homer to begin the bottom of the first, and he later drew a walk while finishing his day with two runs scored. Benge has now hit leadoff in 19 straight contests dating back to May 12, six of which were against left-handed starters. He finishes May with a much better strikeout rate than he showed in April, and his all-around results took a meaningful step forward.

Two of Benge’s three hits and all three of his RBI came in the Mets’ 10-run 12th inning. Benge had an RBI single to put the Mets up 7-6 and then a two-run double that gave New York a 14-6 lead. He’s been heating up at the plate lately and is now 21-for-55 (.381) with one home run, 14 runs scored, 11 RBI and two steals over his last 14 games. After a difficult start to his rookie season, he’s recovered quite nicely.

Benge had his finger prints all over this game for a variety of different reasons. First, he misjudged a line drive from Colt Keith amidst heavy winds at Citi Field that clanked off his glove, turned into a double, and set-up a two-run first inning for the Tigers. Then, he knocked a couple singles and stood at third base as the go-ahead run in the seventh. The Mets ran a cheeky first and third double steal, but Benge hesitated every so slightly and was thrown out at the plate. Finally, he stepped to the plate in the 10th inning and poked a walk-off single up the middle. After a disastrous first two weeks of his career, Benge has maintained a .271 batting average over his last 30 games and found some more power lately with an .817 OPS over his last 15 games. He’s also hit lead-off in two straight games, including here against a left-handed pitcher. It’s officially time to put him back on our radars.