The New York Mets and New York Yankees, both made their first round picks of the 2024 MLB Draft this past Sunday July 14 at Fort Worth in Texas.
The Mets selected Oklahoma State OF/RHP Carson Benge with the 19th overall pick, while the Yankees selected Alabama RHP Ben Hess with the 26th pick.
Earlier tonight in the 2024 MLB Draft, the New York Mets selected Carson Benge, with the 19th overall pick. Benge is an OF/RHP out of Oklahoma State University ⚾️#LatinoSports #MLB #Mets #MLBDraft24 #LGM pic.twitter.com/Ca8DRwFLjD
— Latino Sports (@LatinoSports) July 15, 2024
With the 26th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, the New York Yankees selected Ben Hess, a right-handed pitcher out of the University of Alabama ⚾️#LatinoSports #MLB #Yankees #RepBX #MLBDraft24 pic.twitter.com/0WJAbvuU8g
— Latino Sports (@LatinoSports) July 15, 2024
The Mets and Yankees are both swinging on high upside with their first round picks.
Benge is a redshirt junior and played two seasons at Oklahoma State, due to having to undergo Tommy John surgery in 2022. The left-handed hitter is six-foot-one, 185 pounds and had 18 home runs, 64 RBI, 10 stolen bases, a .335 batting average and an OPS of 1.109 in 248 at-bats this season.
On the mound, he appeared in 18 games, made four starts, pitched 37 innings, struck out 44 batters and had an ERA of 3.18 in 2024. Benge was the semi-finalist for the John Olerud Award for college baseball’s best two-way player this past season. It remains to be seen if the Mets will have him pitch, or just focus on hitting full-time.
With the 19th overall pick in the #MLBDraft, we’ve selected outfielder Carson Benge from Oklahoma State. pic.twitter.com/yM0KbUHCvB
— New York Mets (@Mets) July 15, 2024
Benge has good contact skills and walked two less times than he struck out with a 49-51 ratio. He uses the opposite field well, has strong power, and good bat speed. On defense, he profiles as a corner outfield with great arm strength and could possibly play centerfield on occasions. On the whole, Benge is the 18th ranked player on MLB Pipeline’s Top 250 Draft Prospects Rankings.
As a pitcher, he tops out at around 96 MPH with his fastball. His second best pitch is his slider that is followed by a changeup. At 21-years old, Benge is a guy that could rise through the Mets’ prospects ranks and to MLB quickly.
Hess, the Yankees’ 26th overall pick in the first round, had the most strikeouts in Alabama history per nine innings in his three-year career. Last season, Hess punched out 106 batters in just 68 innings. His walk rate of 4.6 per nine innings, his 5.80 ERA, and injury history are some drawbacks for Hess. Hess had a flexor strain in 2023 and also, a stress fracture in his back in high school.
Round 1 | Pick 26: The New York Yankees select RHP Ben Hess out of Alabama.#MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/v86mXt3NeN
— NYYPlayerDev (@NYYPlayerDev) July 15, 2024
His upside is tremendous with his six-foot-five, 245 pound frame. Hess’ fastball typically sits in the 93-96 mph range and has topped out at 99 mph. His slider is his second best pitch and he can also make it into a harder cutter that sits in the mid 80’s. He also features a curveball and changeup. Hess was the 44th ranked player on MLB Pipeline’s Top 250 Draft Prospect Rankings.
His clean delivery should help him stay durable for a long time. If all goes well, Hess has a chance to be a number two or three starter in MLB.
A Youth Game Now: 19 players in this year’s All-Star Game are under the age of 27; one being Paul Skenes who was selected last year in the 2024 MLB Draft with the first overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates – Image Credit: Bill Menzel/Latino Sports
The Yankees went heavy on the pitching in the first ten rounds of the MLB Draft, with nine of their ten picks being pitchers.
Yankees picks:
- Alabama RHP Ben Hess (26)
- Vanderbilt RHP Bryce Cunningham (53)
- LSU RHP Thatcher Hurd (89)
- Miami (FL) RHP Gage Ziehl (119)
- Vanderbilt RHP Greysen Carter
- LSU LHP Griffin Herring
- Virginia Tech RHP Wyatt Parliament
- Grand Canyon 1B/OF Tyler Wilson
- Auburn LHP Tanner Bauman
- William & Mary OF Joe Delossantos
The Mets also went heavy with pitching and only drafted two pure position players with their 10 selections.
Mets Picks:
- Oklahoma State OF/RHP Carson Benge (19)
- Duke LHP Jonathan Santucci (46)
- Mississippi State RHP Nate Dohm (82)
- N.C. State OF Eli Serrano III (111)
- Liberty North High School SS Trey Snyder (144)
- Georgia 1B Corey Collins (173)
- USC RHP Will Watson (203)
- Oklahoma RHP Ryan Lambert (233)
- Houston RHP Jaxon Jelkin (263)
- Oklahoma RHP Brendan Girton (293)
The third and final day of the MLB Draft will conduct rounds 11-20 on Tuesday, July 16 at 2 pm ET/11 am PT.
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