Carson Benge and Spencer Jones Are Stars in the Making in New York

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When I saw Carson Benge in the first month of the season, I said he would be inconsistent with a lot of swing-and-miss because his head moved too much. Give the rookie credit. He made a great in-season adjustment.

Benge, 23, reduced the head movement in his swing. He did this by closing his stance, moving his head closer to the plate at setup and rotating around his core instead of dipping forward toward the ball.

You can see the reduced head movement in these two swings vs. fastballs four months apart, in which I have highlighted his head position from setup to contact:

The result: Benge has a longer, more balanced stroke geared more toward pulling the ball with power.

“I think you’re right,” manager Andy Green says. “There was a lot of sway early in the season. All the excess movement was making it hard to catch up to a good heater and to stay on spin. He’s cut that down pretty considerably. Still taking an aggressive pass. He has the ability to hit all pitches to all fields, which is a unique attribute to have in a young guy. He competes every day.

“There’s a lot of fisted, soft hits to the left side that I feel like is a beautiful thing of the past that not a lot of people in the exit velo revolution love so much. But it lights up the scoreboard. It gets a guy on base and helps us score runs.”

Check out the changes in his swing:

Benge Swing Splits

Time Period	Swing Length	Attack Direction	Bat Speed	BA vs. 95+ mph	Overall BA
First Half	6.4	4° Opp.	71.4	.284	.263
Second Half	6.7	1° Opp.	71.8	.389 (fourth best in MLB)	.292

Benge is a premier defender with an elite arm as well as a plus runner who steals bases. He is the Mets’ plug-and-play version of Jackson Chourio of Milwaukee, the company he keeps among the only first-year players in NL history with 17 homers and 22 stolen bases:

NL First-Year Players With 17 HR & 22 SB	Home Runs	Stolen Bases	Total Bases
Jackson Chourio, 2024	21	22	245
Ken Boyer, 1955	18	22	225
Carson Benge, 2026	17	22	223

Another Big Adjustment in the Big Apple

Yankees outfielder Spencer Jones — Spencer Jones has reverse splits so far in his major league career. | Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images

Like Benge, Yankees rookie outfielder Spencer Jones, 25, has made a quick and significant adjustment to major league pitching. Jones has the highest tilt in his swing other than Riley Greene of Detroit. Pitchers exploited his swing at the start with elite velocity at the top of the zone. Jones was getting beat consistently by heaters above his hands.

But Jones quickly figured it out. He has otherworldly bat speed, which helps to overcome any swing quirks. The improvement he has made on pitches 95 mph and faster is downright stunning.

Jones vs. 95+ mph	Pitches	AB	H	BA	SLG
Through Aug. 7	152	29	1	.034	.034
Since	137	28	12	.421	.821

“He’s not a deer in the headlights at all,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone says. “There’s a calm to him. There’s an underlying confidence. Game to game he’s done a really good job of making little subtle adjustments. He’s done a good job in the outfield. He’s got make-up speed. The routes and stuff have been a point of emphasis for him and he’s getting better there. But overall I feel like he’s done a good job.”

Jones has been so impressive that he deserves to keep the center field job even when Trent Grisham gets off the IL. Jones hits lefties better (.705 slug), gets on base at a batter clip and grades out better defensively.

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