The top of the Mets farm system right now is position player heavy and today is our first Non-Roster Invitee preview this season featuring a key member of this crew: Francisco Alvarez.
Francisco Alvarez, who played in the 2021 Future’s Game, is currently Baseball America’s #13 prospect, MLB.com’s #10 prospect and Baseball Prospectus’ #10 prospect. Expectations are high and Mets fans are ready for Alvarez to arrive in Queens. He was the #9 prospect in the 2018 International Free Agent class when the Mets signed him at just 16-years old. For Alvarez it has always been the potential of his raw power that has drawn attention.
All it takes is a quick look at his stats from last year to understand why. He started off the season in St. Lucie, at 19-years old, 2.4 years younger than the average player in the league. Over 15 games and 67 PA’s he hit .417/.567/.646. He was then sent to Brooklyn where he was 3.9 years younger than the average player in the league and hit .247/.351/.538 over 84 games and 333 PA’s. Overall, he has played 141 games in the minor leagues with 582 PA’s and hit 31 homers (.539 career minor league slugging percentage).
Back in the 2019 Prospects Handbook, Baseball America was already noting Francisco’s ability to hit for above-average power, citing his short, explosive swing. They also talked about how his barrel control and bat path projects him to have a solid batting average in the future.
Right now Alvarez leads the pack in exciting position players traveling upwards in the Farm System. We’ve already seen him homer in Spring Training this year and we are looking forward to his eventual Queens arrival (which is not expected next this year, but soon)
