PHOENIX — Ever since Shohei Ohtani proved it was possible to be a two-way player in the modern era, the baseball world has wondered who might be the next two-way MLB star. No one has emerged as an obvious answer yet, though several two-way players have been taken high in the MLB Draft the past few years (including the San Francisco Giants selecting two-way players in each of the last two first rounds). With Florida’s Jac Caglianone and Oklahoma State’s Carson Benge projected to go in the first round, the trend of teams taking two-way players high in the draft will live on for at least another year.
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But the question remains, will either player get a true opportunity to try the two-way route in pro ball? The answer is probably no, at least not in a meaningful way.
Caglianone was a key part of Florida’s rotation the past two seasons and he struck out 170 batters in 148 1/3 innings for the Gators, but his power potential at the plate, coupled with his command issues on the mound, make a pro career as a position player far more likely. The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked Caglianone 10th in his most recent top-100 MLB Draft prospect rankings and last week projected him to go to the Colorado Rockies with the third pick.
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Top MLB Draft prospect Jac Caglianone thriving in his final act at Florida
Like Caglianone, Benge — who did a mix of starting and closing while playing in the outfield for OSU over the past two years — is more likely to find a long-term home as a position player in the pros. He can hit 97 mph and has a nasty slider, but Law projects Benge’s professional future to be “in the batter’s box because he has great bat speed, makes excellent swing decisions, and produces hard contact.”
Law ranked the right-handed-throwing, left-handed-hitting Benge 19th overall and projected him to go at that spot to the New York Mets, where he’d join his former college roommate and fellow two-way player Nolan McLean.
.@Carsonbenge3 doing @Carsonbenge3 thingspic.twitter.com/xoHlJor9Sc
— OSU Cowboy Baseball (@OSUBaseball) April 7, 2024
Benge said most teams he talked with last week at the MLB Draft Combine in Phoenix were interested in him more as an outfielder than as a pitcher, though a few saw his future on the mound. Some teams indicated they’d allow him to explore a two-way path. Benge is keeping an open mind about where he’d play in pro ball, but said he’d love the opportunity to at least try to be a two-way player at the outset.
“I just love competing. I can’t really choose one or the other. It’s like choosing which one is your favorite kid. You just can’t do it,” Benge said in Phoenix last week. “I have fun doing both of them, so I hope to keep doing that.”
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Oklahoma State head coach Josh Holliday believes Benge’s professional future is at the plate and in the outfield, and he thinks the 21-year-old will blossom when he’s handling just one role.
“He’s a unique talent,” Holliday said over the phone last week. “I don’t think there are a whole lot of guys out there who are like him — maybe Caglianone is similar but not many guys are true two-way players in college and could be true two-way guys professionally. But I definitely think he’s working his way towards a career in the outfield.”
Said Holliday: “When he settles in at the next level, which I believe as a position player is probably where he’s headed, you’ll see more because he’ll be a little fresher.”
Benge doesn’t believe the extra roles have hampered him, however.
“I feel like being able to do both just keeps the game really simple for me,” Benge said. “I’m not doing too much time thinking about what went wrong or things like that. It just keeps the game simple, and that’s when I feel like I’m doing my best.”
Benge was a star the past two seasons for the Cowboys, but his time at OSU was not without adversity. A native of Yukon, Okla., Benge looked poised to make a significant impact on OSU as a freshman in 2022. According to Holliday, Benge was leading the team in hitting that fall when he injured his elbow. He had Tommy John surgery and missed the regular season.
“He was ready. Unfortunately, his elbow wasn’t,” Holliday said.
Benge says the time rehabbing gave him a new perspective on the game, on life outside of baseball and an appreciation for his teammates, who helped him get through it mentally. When he returned to the field in 2023, he felt nearly at full strength. By this season, he says it was like the injury never happened.
“Honestly, it just kind of feels like a dream now, and it doesn’t really affect me anymore,” Benge said.
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The Cowboys were careful with Benge’s workload as a pitcher coming off the surgery. He made 10 starts in 2023 but threw only 35 innings, posting a 6.69 ERA with a 35:24 K:BB. As an outfielder, Benge played without restriction. In 59 games, he hit .345/.468/.538 with seven homers and a 42:32 BB:K. He followed that up with a brief but impressive stint in the Cape Cod League (10 hits and three walks in 33 plate appearances and a scoreless inning on the mound), cementing himself as a potential first-round pick heading into his redshirt sophomore season.
While Benge’s hitting numbers during his redshirt freshman season were impressive, he came into this year with the goal of hitting for more power, something Law had noted that Benge could improve on. Benge made significant strides in that area, pushing his slugging percentage to .665 and more than doubling his homer total from 2023 to 18. His batting average did dip slightly (.335) and his strikeouts crept up (51), but he still walked a lot (49) and became more of a run producer.
“I felt like I was more of a contact hitter last year,” he said. “But this year, I got the ball in the air a little bit more, got my power numbers up, and definitely had a great year that I can look back on and not be disappointed about.”
On the mound, Benge’s responsibilities increased this season. He came out of the bullpen early in the year, often serving as the team’s closer. Later in the year, he transitioned into a traditional starter’s role, throwing at least five innings in each of his four starts. One of those starts was a 6 1/3 inning, 10-strikeout effort versus Texas Tech in the Big 12 tournament. Benge threw a career-high 37 innings in total, with a 3.16 ERA and a 44:11 K:BB.
Holliday appreciated Benge’s toughness and willingness to do whatever he was asked to do throughout his time at OSU.
“He was a leader by performance. He was a leader by having a smile on his face every day. He was a leader by taking on challenges and never backing down. He was a leader by never making excuses,” Holliday said. “All the kid did was go out and compete and never said a word about it.”
Holliday raves about Benge’s makeup and willingness to be flexible and play through pain.
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“He made it fun, but I really appreciate the old-fashioned way in which he went about his business,” Holliday said. “There’s not many out there tougher than that kid.”
That fearless, hard-nosed mindset suited Benge well as a reliever. As a starter, it wasn’t too hard for Benge to get ready for his outings, but relief appearances in games in which he was also playing in the outfield required some creativity. In the games where it looked like he might close, Benge would start warming up in the outfield in the later innings, throwing “bullpens” to his center fielder Zach Ehrhard. The idea of going from the outfield to closing out a game at the major-league level intrigues Benge.
“That’d be insane,” he said. “Hearing that and seeing a manager point towards me and then coming in, hearing my song being played. That’d be absolutely electric and one thing I’d definitely want to experience.”
Carson Benge Shut the Door!
OSU has had some heart breaks this week in the late innings, that much is for sure, but Carson Benge made today uneventful & that's a GREAT thing. Not the weekend we all hoped, but super proud of the boys for fighting back and gettin' this one today.… pic.twitter.com/U5Scv1nxiH— OState Daily (@Ostate_Daily) April 21, 2024
Benge’s final series came against Caglianone and Florida in the NCAA Regionals in Stillwater. The Gators would beat the Cowboys, two games to one, to advance to the Super Regionals on their way to Omaha. Benge pitched in Game 2 of the series, taking the loss. He faced Caglianone as a hitter in Game 1 — an OSU win — taking the lefty deep. Benge didn’t get an opportunity to chat with Caglianone about their two-way playing experiences but he enjoyed seeing the Florida star up close. He did have one regret, however.
“I kind of wanted to pitch in the game that he pitched,” Benge said. “That would’ve been really cool.”
Regardless of the role, Holliday is confident in Benge’s future as a pro.
“He’s a great personality and a very, very talented player,” Holliday said. “You won’t find many players that have as much of an impact on a game as he did.”
(Top photos of Benge: David Buono / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)