Carson Benge has given up the dream of being baseball’s next two-way star.
Benge, the No. 19 overall pick in this year’s draft by the Mets, is giving up the pitching part of his game to concentrate solely on the outfield and his hitting.
“We set in stone that I’m just going to be an outfielder for right now,” Benge said at Citi Field before Thursday’s game against the Braves. “Just gonna drop pitching and focus on one, trying to get me up here as quick as possible, and see how that turns out.
“As hard it is to do one thing, it’s double the amount hard to do both … I just want to be able to get up here, and if that’s what’s gonna be the quickest way for me, I’m OK with it.”
Benge, a lefty-swinging outfielder and right-handed pitcher at Oklahoma State, said he will report to the Mets’ minor league complex and begin his professional career with Single-A St. Lucie.
He compiled a .335/.444/.665 slash line as a junior with 18 home runs over 61 games, plus a 3.16 ERA over 18 pitching appearance, including four starts.
Benge had said on draft night this month that he hoped the Mets would give him the chance to do both professionally.
The Mets already have one two-way player in their system from Oklahoma State in Double-A Binghamton slugger/starter Nolan McLean.
Asked about two-way MLB superstar Shohei Ohtani, who isn’t pitching this season for the Dodgers after elbow surgery, Benge said, “It’s just how special it is. It’s one thing to do it through 60-some games, but to do it through 162, it’s just amazing how he’s able to keep both sides up.”
Benge, the first draft pick in the regime of team president David Stearns and vice president of amateur scouting Kris Gross, took batting practice with the Mets for the first time before Thursday’s game at Citi Field.
This also marked the 21-year-old Oklahoma native’s first trip to New York City; he said he visited the 9/11 Memorial, the Empire State Building and Times Square, which he joked was “good to go once, but too many people for me.”
“It’s amazing, took my breath away, I really like it,” Benge said of New York. “Take a little bit getting used to, considering I’m from Oklahoma, a bunch of hills and no big cities there. But I really love it.”
Benge signed for a $3.997 million bonus, slightly below the slot value at his draft position of $4.22 million.