Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
MLB Pipeline released their rankings for the top 10 catching prospects in baseball, and to no one’s surprise, Francisco Álvarez was atop them. Coming in at number three was the Mets 2022 first round draft pick Kevin Parada.
In terms of Álvarez, MLB Pipeline would go on to rate him with the top power and highest ceiling out of any of the catching prospects. The power was rated a 70. As explained by Fangraphs, 70 power on the 20/80 scouting scale equivocates to 30+ home run power. We certainly saw that on display when he hit his first career Major League homer this season:
Francisco Alvarez’s first big league hit is an absolute bomb. pic.twitter.com/1nj9UhzjMa
— Steve Gelbs (@SteveGelbs) October 5, 2022
As MLB Pipeline notes, if Álvarez becomes an average receiver, the expectation is “his offensive upside should make him an All-Star several times over.” This is also why MLB Pipeline believes Álvarez is a Rookie of the Year candidate if he receives enough playing time.
While Álvarez was dubbed the best power bat, it may be Parada who turns out to be the best hitter. In fact, MLB Pipeline rated Parada has having the best hit tool (60) among the top catching prospects saying:
The first catcher taken in the 2022 Draft, No. 11 overall by the Mets, Parada keeps thing simple at the plate with a good feel for the barrel. He hit .361 with a .453 OBP at Georgia Tech in his Draft year and that approach could allow him to hit .300 with plenty of pop as a big leaguer.
Notably, having two catchers on this list is a very good problem to have. What is astonishing is if not for the Joey Lucchesi trade, the Mets would have had three ranked with Endy Rodriguez, the prospect the Mets gave up in that three team deal, being rated as the sixth best catching prospect.
For all we know, we may see the Mets having three top catching prospects in the very near future. As previously reported on MMN, the Mets signed catcher Daiverson Gutierrez in this year’s international free agency signing period. Gutierrez was rated as a top 50 international free agent prospect, and he received the second highest bonus the Mets have ever given to a catching prospect (Álvarez being the highest).
The Mets farm system has been getting stronger and stronger with each passing year. With prospects like Álvarez, Parada, and now Gutierrez, you can even saw the Mets are catching on.
