Francisco Alvarez, Photo by Richard Nelson
Heading into their most important series of the year, the Mets plan to promote top prospect Francisco Álvarez per multiple reports.
Álvarez, 20, is currently listed as the No. 1 prospect in baseball according to MLB pipeline.
Per Joel Sherman, the plan is for Álvarez to get designated hitter at-bats against lefties. The first pitcher the Mets are scheduled to face on Friday is lefty Max Fried.
Álvarez began the season with the Mets Double-A affiliate Binghamton and crushed his way through 67 games at the level. He hit 19 home runs with a slash line of .277/.368/.553, earning a promotion to Triple-A.
Álvarez hasn’t put up the same total numbers in 45 games at the minors’ highest level (nine home runs and a slash line of .234/.382/.443) but fans have been clamoring for the call-up of a prospect described as “generational.”
Recently for Triple-A Syracuse, Álvarez has found his groove. In September he has a 1.079 OPS. He reached base in his last 12 games.
Álvarez is the third of the Mets top prospects to earn a promotion this month, following the additions of Brett Baty and Mark Vientos to the major league roster. Álvarez is not on the 40-man roster and a corresponding move will have to be made for his activation.
New York has a three-game series with the Atlanta Braves this weekend. The Mets have a one-game lead in the National League East and are all in on maintaining that when the weekend ends.
