Francisco Alvarez:
Age: 19
Bats/Throws: R/R
Height/Weight: 5’11’, 220 lbs.
A prospect who has garnered some buzz as of late, but is ready to burst on the scene as one of the game’s best is Francisco Alvarez. The 19 year old catcher hails from Guatire, Venezuela, and has made tons of noise in the minor leagues since debuting in 2019. In 2018 when the New York Mets signed him as an international free agent, he was ranked only 13th overall in the class, but it appears he is poised to be the hidden gem of that group.
Since coming over from Venezuela, Alvarez has done nothing but drop jaws with his “loud tools”. In his first seven games of professional ball, Alvarez put up an OPS of 1.395 in the Gulf Coast League before promptly being promoted to Rookie ball.
In 35 games in Rookie ball, all Alvarez did was impress some more with his already fine tuned game at just 17 years old. The young backstop posted a slash line of .282/.377/.443 across that span.
Alvarez has generated much praise from scouts about his already advanced approach at the plate. In his first seven professional games, he matched his 12.9 K% with a 12.9 BB%. In Kingsport for Rookie ball, Alvarez continued to spray the ball to all fields while working a free pass at around a 12 percent clip.
The stocky backstop stands at 5-feet-11-inches tall, and 220 pounds. It’ll be a body he has to maintain. In the box, he stands with a wide base and keeps his hands high and tight. There is minimal movement in his swing as he uses the familiar toe tap mechanism that Mets fans are privy to from the David Wright days. Keeping his feet still and drawing his hands back, Alvarez generates immense torque and explodes through the zone with his hands and his hips. While his body is not very projectable, his strength is beyond his years and his above average bat speed will allow him to hit for power at the next level.
At only 19 years old, Alvarez’s knowledge of the strike zone and approach transcends his age. The backstop gears his swing towards lacing line drives to all fields, but he can, and has, elevated the ball - particularly to the pull side - as we saw with his seven long balls in his pro debut.
The Venezuela native moves well behind the dish despite his advanced stature for his age. What has earned Alvarez much praise on the defensive side of the game is his energy behind the plate and his willingness to learn and work with his pitchers. He is an agile defender, but still has much room for growth with receiving, and naturally from a lack of experience, game calling.
There is no doubt that Alvarez has plus arm strength from behind the plate. It is arguably his best tool, and has allowed him to effectively control the run game thus far.
Again, a testament to his athleticism, Alvarez does not run poorly despite being physically advanced for his age. He carries his big body gracefully and even picked up a steal in his 35 games in Kingsport.
Fantasy Angle
If Alvarez can put it all together, the consensus top five catching prospect in baseball has the chance to be one of Major League Baseball’s elite backstops. I took a sneak peek at our upcoming Top 500 Prospect update and Alvarez is ranked just outside the top 100 and above Heriberto Hernandez, Alejandro Kirk and Diego Cartaya.
Catchers are not the seixest rosters in leagues, especially because so many pop at the major league level each season. But Alvarez’s value is quite high right now — it helps that the Mets are publicly refusing to include him in trades — and even if you don’t intend to see him debut on your team, he should be a good sweetener in a larger package.
In our Mets 2021 Prospect list, we gave him a 55 hit and 55 power grade, which means a .270/25 HR future is within grasp. In 2019, only four catchers reached those combined benchmarks.
If you decide to roster him until he debuts, there’s a chance he can be a perennial top 10 catcher in fantasy baseball, making him extra valuable in two-catcher leagues. He’s a good hold in dynasty leagues as his value should incrementally creep up when MiLB returns. But like I mentioned before, his value is the highest it’s even been so I don’t blame you if you cash in.