20/20 VISION
Mets’ catching prospect keeps eye on bigs as he continues to impress, improve at Double-A
BINGHAMTON — At 20 years old, Francisco Alvarez is tied for the youngest player in the Eastern League and the fourth-youngest position player in all of Double-A.
And yet, the Mets’ top prospect is not satisfied with just being ahead of most players his age.
“I think Vladdy, Acuña, Tatis Jr. — those guys were in my spot and they’re already in the bigs,” Alvarez said recently through an interpreter, correctly noting that Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Ronald Acuña Jr. and Fernando Tatis Jr. — three of the game’s biggest young stars — all made their MLB debuts as 20-year-olds.
“So I want people to treat me as a man. That’s how I feel.”
Alvarez has certainly been swinging the bat like it of late — he has crushed nine home runs in his last 15 games — but his path to the major leagues includes an extra hurdle than it did for the likes of Guerrero, Acuña and Tatis: He plays the most demanding position, catcher.
So while Alvarez’s bat has been making plenty of noise this season for Double-A Binghamton, the No. 7 prospect in baseball (per MLB.com) is trying to make sure his performance behind the plate is also standing out. That extra emphasis has caught the attention of his teammates and coaches. “He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever played with,” third baseman Brett Baty said. “I would say more so this year. In 2019, we played together in [rookie level] Kingsport. He was a little more laughy, goofy. But now he’s starting to realize how close he is. He’s coming in here every single day and trying to get to the big leagues the next day.” A scout who has watched Alvarez this season said there is “no question” about the bat, but indicated there is still work to be done behind the plate. Alvarez appears determined to address that lingering question.
According to Binghamton manager Reid Brignac, Alvarez is “tops in the [Eastern] League in framing,” citing metrics that are not publicly available. Mets director of player development Kevin Howard also cited a metric that ranked Alvarez as one of the top five receivers in all of minor league baseball.
Brignac lauded Alvarez’s blocking and throwing, as well, but perhaps the biggest area of growth has come in the work that is not as visible to most observers.
“I’ve seen a lot of growth in his preparation every day when he catches,” Brignac said. “He’s doing his homework pregame, the nights before. He comes in with a game plan. He has a plan when we talk during the [pitchers] meetings. He knows his pitching staff very well too. He finds ways to use their stuff against the guys we’re playing.
“More so than before. He’s starting to realize [what it takes].” Alvarez has taken in how pitchers have attacked him — differently than most hitters in the league, Brignac and Howard said — and used it to his advantage in calling games. He also researches opposing hitters on his own, Howard said, so he can better devise a game plan.
“Framing, throwing, blocking, those things I learn day by day,” Alvarez said before a game last week at Mirabito Stadium. “That comes with more experience. But one of the things I’ve been focused more on is understanding every pitcher and knowing how to call the game.”
Binghamton hitting coach Tommy Joseph, a former catcher who works with Alvarez defensively, said the Venezuelan has taken charge in those pregame meetings with pitchers. His English has also improved markedly, Howard said, which has allowed him to communicate even better with his pitching staff. “He runs the pitchers meetings,” Joseph said. “That’s who he is. Obviously we got our guys that are game-prep guys, analytics guys, but whatever Alvy says goes. That’s what you want. He’s so good at it. … He’s probably one of the most fearless leaders I’ve ever met.”
The last area the Mets want Alvarez to focus on defensively, according to Howard, is staying quiet behind the plate — with his body and glove, allowing him to give pitchers more consistent targets.
Offensively, Alvarez has mostly
mashed Double-A pitching. He came out of the gates on fire, homering in each of his first three games of the season with a slash line of .292/ .375/.667 with four home runs, six walks and 16
strikeouts over his first 13 games. He then went 3-for-35 (.086) with five walks and 10 strikeouts over his next nine games as pitchers made adjustments against him.
But Alvarez returned the favor, catching fire again and posting a slash line of .330/.387/.632 with nine walks and 33 strikeouts over his last 27 games through Saturday. He had gone over a month without a home run, but recently made up for that in a hurry, homering Sunday for the ninth time in his last 15 games.
“I couldn’t be more impressed,” Howard said. “He’s been pitched tougher than any other player in the league. They don’t give him any kind of predictability at all. You can really just see him evolve as a guy that takes consistent quality at-bats. He’s very disciplined with his approach. It’s hard to catch him cheating. … People look at his numbers and think he’s a home run hitter, but when I watch him play, he looks like a guy that makes the pitcher work to get him out every time he’s up.”
Alvarez pointed to swinging at pitches in the strike zone and not trying to pull everything as keys to his recent tear.
Brignac thought it was beneficial for Alvarez to go through his brief slump in early May, since cold streaks find every player at any level through the course of a given season. The manager said Alvarez was getting better at handling those failures, however infrequent they may be.
“He’s understanding what he can and can’t do, what’s acceptable and what’s not, and where and when to let your frustrations out,” Brignac said. “I’m not the type of manager that you gotta keep it all in. No, if you need to release it, go in the clubhouse and release it. … Go away and do it and then come back and get ready to play.
“You gotta catch. You got another responsibility here that’s very important. It’s not just about hitting. We’re developing total players, not just hitters or defenders. We want to be great at both.”
As for when Alvarez proves to be the total player enough to get the call to the Mets remains to be seen. He said in February his goal is to play in the big leagues this season — when reminded of that last week, he said, “anything can happen” — which would put him in rare company for someone at his age and position.
In MLB’s wild-card era (since 1995), only three players have caught a game before their 21st birthday — Joe Mauer (2004, Twins), Dioner Navarro (2004, Yankees) and Luis Torrens (2017, Padres), who were all 20 when they made their MLB debuts, according to Stathead.
Alvarez won’t turn 21 until Nov. 19.
“I think catchers traditionally, they haven’t really been able to get to the big leagues younger,” Howard said. “So we’re not going to ignore the history of every team throughout baseball. But also, we understand he’s a generationaltype talent and a generational-type personality. So we’re not going to hold him back just based on what has happened in baseball in the past.
“We’re going to treat him like the unique player that he is. All that stuff ’s going to be under consideration. We just have to continue to watch him progress and make the best decisions on his specific situation.”
For now, Alvarez is a staple in the Rumble Ponies’ lineup. He is surrounded by the 22-year-old Baty and 21-year-old shortstop Ronny Mauricio, who follow him as the Mets’ No. 2 and 3 prospects, respectively, per MLB.com. They live in the same house, work on speaking each other’s languages, and dream about the day they’re part of the Mets’ young core together.
“I know in the future,” Alvarez said, “we’ll be superstars.”