Sunday's 6-4 win at the Yankees featured two of the Mets' top prospects, Carson Benge and Ryan Clifford, in the starting lineup.
Benge led off and started in right field while Clifford batted sixth and held down left field.
Both players posted 0-for-3 afternoons at George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa, Fla., but gained bits of developmental experience.
"I think it's a good learning experience," Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said of Benge's fifth-inning at-bat against Tim Hill, a 6-4-3 double play that followed leadoff singles by Cristian Pache and Grae Kessinger.
Mark Vientos subsequently lined out to right field to end the inning.
"You have a tough left-on-left (matchup), really high groundball (possibility) on Tim Hill in that situation -- first and second, nobody out," Mendoza said of Benge. "That's probably a situation where he comes up in a real game and just having the awareness -- what a pitcher's trying to do -- I think there's a lot to learn and for us as a coaching staff to teach the guy in certain situations, and that was the perfect one. So, pretty good experience there."
Benge's first two at-bats against Luis Gil were a first-pitch, first-inning lineout to shortstop to start the game and a 1-3 groundout for the third inning's second out.
The Mets' second overall prospect, according to SNY's Joe DeMayo, is in spring training with New York after logging one Grapefruit League game last year -- an at-bat during the March 7 game at the Washington Nationals.
In 116 games across the High-A, Double-A and Triple-A ranks, Benge slashed .281/.385/.472 with 15 home runs and 73 RBI.
"It's pretty cool, being able to see all these guys," Benge said. "But, at the end of the day, it's just baseball. But being able to pick their brains, they're some of the best in the sport. So, being able to pick their brains about different things that come across my mind is definitely a big help."
Most recently, the 23-year-old Benge slashed .178/.272/.311 with three home runs and 13 RBI in 24 games at the Triple-A level.
"I had a tough time finding anything he didn't do well," said Clifford, who was Benge's teammate with Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse. "He was electric ... he gets his swing off early and he's able to play all three outfield positions, got a really good arm and something that third base coaches have to take notice on when they're thinking of sending runners and he's aggressive and I think he just plays the game the right way and he's always looking to take an extra base and help the team find a way to win."
Like Benge, the 22-year-old Clifford was an Aug. 11 promotion from Binghamton to Syracuse and non-roster invitee for spring training.
A fellow prospect in the top 10 of DeMayo's rankings, Clifford is a first baseman with the potential to play corner outfield.
He slashed .237/.356/.470 with 29 home runs and 93 RBI in 139 games across Binghamton and Syracuse last year.
"It's been good," Clifford said of his outfield progression. "I think, for me, just try to be quick laterally and make sure my feet are moving. I'm putting myself in the right direction and I'm getting to top speed as quick as I can, and just try to continue to get better at all parts of that."
Clifford slashed .243/.355/.493 with 24 home runs and 75 RBI in 105 games with Binghamton last season. He logged 98 Double-A games in 2024.
"I think I made a little jump last year with my aggressiveness," Clifford said. "The power's always kind of going to be there for me, so just trying to get my best swing off earlier in counts -- just not get to two strikes -- I think is a big part. So, just getting my swing off early and hunting the middle of the zone."
After slashing .219/.359/.395 with five home runs and 18 RBI in 34 Triple-A games, Clifford looks to continue his progression.
"I think, for me, it's going to happen -- not to sweat it, it's better for me to swing through an 0-0 changeup that I thought was a fastball and not hit a weak fly ball to right field or something like that," he said. "So, just look to be aggressive and trust my eyes is the biggest thing for me and I'll adjust the spin accordingly, more times than not, so just look to hunt the fastball."