Benge Named An NL Rookie Of The Year Finalist

The field of finalists for the 2026 for the NL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year Award has been set and it includes the New York Mets' standout first-year rightfielder Carson Benge.

The list of three finalists was announced by the Baseball Writers' Association of America on Monday, and joining Benge in the running are Cincinnati Reds' first baseman Sal Stewart and St. Louis Cardinals' second baseman J.J. Wetherholt.

The consensus among oddsmakers is that Stewart should easily walk away with the honor, but Benge is given a puncher's chance as second choice.

Either way, it has been an emphatically good season for the 23-year-old Benge, who entered the season as one of the game's Top 20 prospects and surely lived up to that billing, both offensively and defensively.

In 156 games, Benge hit .282 with a .776 OPS with 22 doubles, 20 home runs, 65 RBIs and 22 stolen bases, resulting in a 4.3 WAR.

In the process, Benge became the first Mets' rookie to record a 20-homer, 20-stolen base season, while his 168 hits moved him past the record 155 compiled by Pete Alonso in 2019 for most-ever by a New York rookie

Equipped with one of the game's best throwing arms, Benge led the NL with 10 outfield assists and the majors with two double plays. Benge's fielding highlight, of course, was the back-to-back throws he made to gun down a pair of San Diego Padres' runners at the plate in the Mets' 2-1 win on Aug. 17.

Those across-the-board sterling numbers have already enabled Benge to gather in a truckload of postseason accolades, including:

• Named to MLB.com's 2026 All-Debut Team, which honors players who made their big-league debut in 2026

• Inclusion as the rightfielder on the First Team of MLB.com's 2026 All-Rookie Team, with teammates Nolan McLean and A.J. Ewing earning Second team recognition

• Finalist for the 2026 Rawlings Gold Glove Award in rightfield, with McLean winning the NL's Gold Glove for pitchers

As mentioned, Stewart is a solid favorite to take home the ROY Award after he finished third in MLB with 112 RBIs while swatting 32 homers and adding 15 stolen bases. Wetherholt finished the season at .242 with 17 HRs and 14 stolen bases.

If Benge were to win the award, he would become the seventh Met to do so, following Tom Seaver (1967), Jon Matlack (1972), Darryl Strawberry (1983), Dwight Gooden (1984), Jacob deGrom (2014) and Alonso (2019).

The winner of this year's award will be announced on Nov. 9.