00:00But the guy that we want to talk about to kickstart this conversation that'll take up the front half of
00:04the show is Carson Bench of the New York Mets.
00:07Now, Bench homered on opening day.
00:10Bench, after that, went into this cold spell that lasted about a month.
00:14And we're saying, does he need a reset in Syracuse?
00:16Does he need a reset in Syracuse?
00:18The answer was, heck no, he doesn't.
00:20Carson Bench, over his last bit, has been absolutely outstanding.
00:25In his last 50 games, hitting .293 with an OPS over .800.
00:28He's driven in .25.
00:30He has seven homers in that stretch.
00:32Bench is a guy that you loved, Arm Layton.
00:34You had inside your top 20 prospects in baseball at the beginning of the year.
00:38How has Bench broken out of that early slump that he found himself in?
00:42I just feel like for him, he's such a rhythm-based hitter.
00:45And there's some moving parts to his swing, but he always has such a good feel for the barrel that
00:48I just think he got a little bit out of rhythm.
00:50And even just toning some minor things down a little bit for him, I think, has gone a long way.
00:57He's just too good of a hitter.
00:58To not have found his stride.
01:00And I think what we're also seeing now, too, is just the different ways that he can succeed.
01:05I mean, we've seen the three-hit days where he's just spraying, kind of softly hit, but line drives all
01:10over the yard.
01:11And then we see the days where he gets into a couple more advantage counts, and he lets it eat
01:15a little bit more.
01:16But, you know, I think we've seen that big leg kick that he likes to utilize, and he still is
01:21utilizing it.
01:22But there's more rhythm to it.
01:23There's times where it was kind of into a toe tap into a leg kick.
01:26I think the movements where, when you're in the minor leagues, if you have some variance to your own timing,
01:32you can get away with it a little bit more.
01:33I think in the big leagues, like, you have to control your own timing already, because these pitchers are going
01:39to be so good at getting you out of that.
01:40And I feel like he's found the exact moves that work for him and that he can repeat.
01:45And as a result, I mean, he has been fantastic.
01:47And what I always liked about him as a prospect is you've got the sneaky power, you've got the great
01:52field to hit, and then you marry that with a good approach.
01:55It's like, this guy is too well-rounded to not be solid.
01:58And then when he's right, you see all those things start to shine through, and I think that's what we've
02:03been seeing over the last 50 games.
02:04It's been really fun to watch Carson Benj, and as we start to play the five-year game, you see
02:10consistency in the outfield for the New York Mets.
02:13And listen, they have a whole bunch of issues that they've got to deal with, right?
02:16They've got to figure out what's going on at first base with Polanco and Vientos.
02:19It's just not an answer right now.
02:21Semien at second base, unfortunately, just not an answer for them.
02:25Bichette was starting to heat up.
02:27Bichette is an interesting case where you're financially tied to him, and he could opt in, and you call it
02:32a poison pill contract.
02:33Like, that's what it could be, or he could rake and opt out, and he's out of the equation, and
02:38he's looking for a five- or six-year deal.
02:40They have pitching things that they've got to sort through.
02:42But it's cool to look at the Mets, and in a year that has been littered with problems, say,
02:48I don't really think the outfield's a problem anymore.
02:50Like, that has to be nice to put your head on the pillow as a Mets fan and think about.
02:54That's a great consolation prize in what's been this disaster-ish season for them.
02:59And I think that's what we've talked to Ryan Finkelstein about it, you know, and our managing editor, and also,
03:04you know, host of Locked On Mets, and also one of the co-hosts here.
03:07And he says that's the only thing that gets me up for every game.
03:11I get to watch Ewing and Benj roam around in the outfield.
03:14And I think there's a lot to be said there, and it's funny, with the ebbs and flows that Benj
03:17has had a little bit, and I think it's mostly been, you know, positive through the majority of it.
03:22But it's just the bad was so bad. It was the 0-for-whatever streak. He's going to finish this
03:27year, unless he has another, you know, weird, tough stretch, which I just don't think is going to happen.
03:32I was like a 3-plus win rookie that played all three outfield spots.
03:36And that's the other interesting thing that I think through the year with Benj is that when he had to
03:40fill in in center field as well for a handful of games, he was pretty solid out there, too.
03:45So you also found out, and I always thought that Benj could play a solid center field, but now you
03:49saw that at the big league level.
03:50Like, this is a guy that can play a really solid corner, can also fill in in center.
03:54You're not going to need that, presumably, with Ewing, but just to know that you have multiple guys that can
03:58play all three spots as well,
04:00that do tools across the board and can impact the game in so many different ways, I think sets the
04:05Mets up really nicely with those two moving forward as well.
04:08And then, of course, Soto, we don't need to talk about that guy.
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