JUPITER, Fla. — A.J. Ewing’s goal entering the season is the same as it was last year: “Dominate the level where I’m at.”
The Mets outfield prospect went from Low-A St. Lucie to Double-A Binghamton last year and has been among the group of young players that has stood out to Carlos Mendoza so far this spring.
“He’s a baseball player,’’ the manager said prior to Ewing starting in left field and hitting seventh against the Marlins on Friday at Roger Dean Stadium. “There’s a lot of different ways he can help a team win a baseball game, whether it’s the way he plays defense, the way he runs the bases [or his] good at-bats. He puts the ball in play and drives the ball. He’s another kid, I don’t think people talk much about him. He’s a good one there.”
Mendoza’s scouting eye is pretty accurate in speaking to other team’s perspective of the 21-year-old, but plenty of people have taken notice of Ewing as he enters his third full season in the pros.
Ewing certainly grew offensively in 2025, as he said he “learned who I was as a hitter.”
And that, according to Ewing, is this: “I don’t think putting the ball in the air should be a big part of my game.”
Instead, it’s getting on base and moving when he gets there. He swiped 70 bases over three levels last year.
“That’s a big focus of mine,” Ewing said. “It sets the table for the guys behind me to drive me in.”
The guys behind him could at some point include Carson Benge, who was also in the lineup against Miami on Friday as he looks to win the open right field job.
Asked how that could happen, Mendoza said, “Just continue doing what he’s doing. There are a lot of things out of his control, [but] he’s having a really good camp.”
According to the manager, that includes controlling the strike zone.
“I like the quality of at-bats, especially against left-handed pitching,” Mendoza said of the left-handed swinging Benge. “We saw him the other day go the other way with two strikes [for a homer] against a lefty.”
And Mendoza also noted other aspects of Benge’s game.
“His defense and the way he’s running the bases,’’ Mendoza said. “There’s a long way to go [until Opening Day], but he’s having a good camp.”
Chris Suero, another prospect who is primarily a catcher, but also played left field this spring, drew praise from Mendoza, as well.
Mendoza knows this is the best, and perhaps only, season that he’ll get a chance to see some of these prospects in person and he doesn’t want to waste the opportunity.
He said he watches those players “pretty closely.”
“It’s part of my routine: Read reports, talk to coordinators, player development [and] staff because we’re gonna need guys like that,’’ Mendoza said of the top prospects. “The exciting part is we’ve got a lot of them. We’ve got a few [in major league camp] and if you go on the back field [to minor league camp], there’s talent there, too. It’s not only the upper [minors], but the lower level.”
Despite the fast starts of players like Benge, Ewing and others, Mendoza said it’s too early to know where they will end up, and who may end up in Queens.
“A lot can happen between now and when we break camp,” Mendoza said. “The main thing is to keep guys healthy. The goal is to have a lot of tough decisions.”
