Francisco Álvarez Looking Like a Bonafide Prodigy
Leaps, bounds, and much more for the young backstop...
Image credit: Roberto Carlo
There is no mistaking the potential the New York Mets have in their young backstop, Francisco Álvarez. Limitless? Maybe. Time will tell on that front. What we’ve seen so far, though, has surely been remarkable.
Whether it be the clutch hits, sizzling homers, his veteran presence behind the plate, those gorgeous snap throws, or some sort of wild, all-of-the-above scenario, all signs point to an extremely bright future in this game for the 21-year-old Venezuelan product.
The ups and downs have been noticeable, but when are they not for a young ballplayer? The adjustments one must make at this level are quite literally what separate the players who make a mark in this game and the ones who don’t.
What Francisco Álvarez has done in that respect over the span of less than half a season is nothing short of prodigious. Executing and keeping on an upward trajectory against the storm that is MLB pitching is one thing. Even for a wet-behind-the-ear rook, that’s the job description (heck of a probationary period, huh?).
Doing it on a high-pressure, high-priced, highly-scrutinized, wholly middling team—in the biggest market in the world, no less—with one of the more rabid fan bases and media corps in sports peering into the microscope on an inning-by-inning, out-by-out basis, as Álvarez has, is another thing entirely.
The results that we’re seeing so far from the guy they affectionately call Alvy appear to be a product of his natural raw talent interacting with the ever-increasing confidence and comfort of knowing that he belongs here. And belong, he does.
A look at his .238/.295/.514 slash line may not drop jaws, but the fact that Álvarez’s 17 home runs pace all MLB catchers (tied with Atlanta’s Sean Murphy in 43 fewer plate appearances) says all it needs to about what he brings to the table—as noted previously, raw talent.
That impressive power quotient has pushed Álvarez’s 121 wRC+ among some of the most celebrated backstops in the game in Murphy (166 wRC+), the Dodgers’ Will Smith (144), Baltimore’s Adley Rutschman (125), and Jonah Heim of Texas (123). That’s who’s ahead of him. That’s the list. Impressive.
And that defense is nothing to scoff at, either. Per Statcast, Álvarez ranks 10th among qualified backstops in blocks above average (3), is seventh in framing runs (4), and is only a tenth of a second shy of J.T. Realmuto’s MLB-leading catcher pop time (1.93sec to 1.82; 1.99sec MLB average).
And, again, it’s all coming as a rookie in an immensely pressurized situation. Onward and way, way upward for this young man.
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