Mets plan to keep hunting impact talent late in the first round, pointing to Benge and Voit as proof of concept

The Mets are entering the 2026 MLB Draft with a clear internal theme: draft value can be found after the top of the first round, and the organization is trying to replicate a process it says already has produced tangible results. In a draft preview released by MLB, Mets vice president of amateur scouting Kris Gross is spotlighted for building a recent haul that includes Carson Benge and Mitch Voit.

The foundation of that argument goes back roughly two years. Gross used the first pick of his Mets tenure on Benge, a two-way college player who, according to MLB’s write-up, has begun to fulfill the promise that prompted New York to go that direction early. The Mets’ current approach, the preview suggests, is not only about selecting players with upside, but also about finding them at draft slots where they can be more plentiful than they are at the very top.

A year after Benge, Gross added Voit, a second baseman. MLB’s draft preview points to Voit’s recent momentum at High-A Brooklyn as a sign that the organization’s evaluation work is translating into on-field production at the minor-league level. The preview also situates Voit’s trajectory by noting he is not yet at the same stage as Benge, but it frames the similarities as meaningful rather than coincidental.

What makes the Mets’ strategy stand out, in the organization’s own telling, is the scope of it. MLB’s preview says Gross has not had a single pick above No. 19 in the Draft during that stretch. It adds specific context on both players’ selection positions, with Benge going 19th overall and Voit coming off the board at 38.

From there, New York turns its attention to this weekend’s draft order. MLB’s preview notes the Mets will pick 27th in this year’s Draft, an assignment that fits the same “late-first-round” framework. The implication is straightforward: if the Mets can identify players they believe can ascend quickly from those slots, their annual investment in amateur talent can keep paying dividends even without a frequent presence at the top of the board.

For fans tracking the weekend, MLB’s preview also includes the structure and timing of the event. Day 1 runs Saturday, July 11, with Rounds 1 through 4 beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET and continuing through 2:30 p.m. ET for picks 1-10, while additional rounds are carried later on MLB Network,, MLB TV, and MLB+. Day 2 covers Rounds 5 through 20 on Sunday, July 12, beginning at 11:30 a.m. ET and running through 7:30 p.m. ET across MLB platforms.

The practical question now is whether New York’s staff can repeat the results of its most recent drafts while facing a system that constantly reshuffles based on player availability. Benge and Voit are being used as the Mets’ best recent examples, but the upcoming selection at No. 27 will be the real test of whether this late-first-round emphasis continues to work under new draft-year conditions.