For the 2nd straight season, the state of Oklahoma is represented in the National League Rookie of the Year race as Yukon High School and Oklahoma State alum, Carson Benge, was named one of the finalists earlier this week.
(For those of you who may not remember, Norman High and OU alum, Cade Horton, was a finalist in 2025.
The other finalists this year are Sal Stewart of the Cincinnati Reds and JJ Wetherholt of the St Louis Cardinals.
We Saw This Coming
After a stellar high school career at Yukon High School that saw him win the COAC Offensive Player of the Year in 2021, Benge was a two way player at Oklahoma State.
Drafted in the 1st round of the MLB Draft in 2024, Benge was consistently one of the top players in the Minors as he won numerous awards and sped through the system earning the Opening Day start for the Mets in just his 3rd (2nd full) professional season in 2026.
After hitting a home run on Opening Day, Benge struggled out of the gate, but the Mets stuck with the outfielder who was hitting under .200 into May. However, repaying the faith the Mets put into him, Benge ended the season with a .282 average – a hundred point increase from where he was on May 2 (.179).
Offensive Ranks Among Rookies
Honestly, the race for who should win the ROY comes down to Stewart and Benge. For his part, Wetherholt had a great season, but injuries limited him to just 139 games compared to 162 for Stewart and 156 for Benge.
For his part, Benge finished in the top 5 in the following offensive categories:
- Hits – 1st (168)
- fWAR – 2nd (4.3)
- HR – 2nd (20)
- RBI – 3rd (62)
- SB – 3rd (22)
- Runs – 3rd (86)
- 2B – 4th (22)
- 5th – wRC+ (118)
Compared to Stewart, Benge had 4 more hits in 28 fewer ABs, but Stewart did have 32 HR and 112 RBI (the “sexy” stats). Stewart also had 13 more strikeouts (155 vs 142).
The Separator
Perhaps where Benge could overtake Stewart in the vote, is in the field. Even though Benge struggled out of the gate in the field, his glove was stellar all season long. He has one of the top velos of any outfielder in the game (hello, former pitcher), and was one of only 7 outfielders to have 10+ outfield assists in 2026.
He was so good in the field that he was named as one of the 3 finalists for Gold Glove in RF in the National League – something that is almost unheard of for rookies.
Another factor that is in favor of Benge being named the winner, there are only 2 rookies in MLB history to have at least 165 hits, 20 HR, 20 SB, and 50 BB in a season – Carson Benge and …….MIKE TROUT. (Yes, that Mike Trout who will be a first ballot Hall of Famer.)
*Header picture vs Yahoo! Sports
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