Alright, so I spent some time digging into this Carson Benge situation for the upcoming draft. You see these names pop up, and you get curious, right? Especially a two-way guy like him. It wasn’t like I had some grand plan, just started poking around.
Getting Started
First thing I did, I pulled up his basic stats. You gotta start somewhere. Saw the hitting numbers, saw the pitching numbers from Oklahoma State. Looked pretty solid on both fronts, which always makes things interesting. It’s easy to just glance at numbers, though. So, the next step was trying to actually watch the guy play.
Finding game film isn’t always easy, but I managed to catch some highlights, a few inning snippets here and there. Tried to get a feel for his swing, his presence at the plate. Then looked at his mechanics on the mound. You try to see if anything jumps out, good or bad. Does he look smooth? Does the power look real? Stuff like that.
Thinking About the Draft Spot
Okay, so I got a basic picture. Then the real work started – figuring out where he might land in a mock draft. This part’s always tricky.
- I looked at what the “experts” were saying. Checked a few different mock drafts that were already out there. Saw his name floating around, sometimes higher, sometimes a bit lower.
- Tried to gauge the consensus. Were people seeing him more as a hitter? A pitcher? Or genuinely buying the two-way potential at the next level? That seemed to be the big question.
- Then I started thinking about team needs. You look at the teams picking in the range where he was being mocked. Who needs pitching? Who needs a bat? Who might be willing to take a shot on a two-way player and figure it out later?
Making the Call (Sort Of)
Putting him into my own mental mock draft was tough. I shuffled him around a bit. Initially, I thought maybe late first round, based purely on the college performance. But the two-way thing complicates it. Teams can be wary, or they can be really intrigued.
I considered placing him somewhere in the 20s. Then I thought, maybe a team earlier might jump if they really believe in the bat or the arm specifically, forgetting the two-way part for a moment. It’s a bit of a guessing game, honestly. You weigh the talent, the performance, the signability (though that’s harder for us outsiders to judge), and the team fits.
Eventually, I penciled him in somewhere just outside the top 20. Felt like a spot where a team might feel the potential reward outweighs the risk or the uncertainty of his future role. It wasn’t a scientific process, more like putting puzzle pieces together based on what I’d seen and read.
Final Thoughts
Doing this kind of exercise, just focusing on one player like Benge, really highlights how much goes into these drafts. It’s not just about ranking the best players; it’s about fits, philosophies, and sometimes just gut feelings from the teams. It was a good way to spend an afternoon, just digging in and forming my own rough idea instead of just reading what everyone else thinks. Now, just gotta wait and see how wrong I was when the actual draft happens!
