Neither Justin Verlander nor Yu Darvish were at their best as both struggled with command against a particularly tight strike zone and both gave up runs early. Both bullpens thrived following their departures, paving the way for extra innings in a 3-3 game. It was then that the Mets offense broke out, scoring four runs in the 10th inning to secure their sixth straight win.

It was the Mets who scored first on a weakly-hit but perfectly-placed Daniel Vogelbach infield single in the first inning. The Padres immediately responded, though, as Manny Machado hit an RBI double and later scored on a Luis Guillorme fielding error to give the Padres the lead in the bottom of the inning.

Verlander continued to find himself in trouble, even after surrendering the early lead. He gave up a Trent Grisham RBI double in the second inning to make it a 3-1 game before loading the bases in the third. With one out and Gary Sánchez at the plate, Verlander was able to get him to ground into a double play to avoid a disaster inning.

That double play seemed to reverse his fortunes as he allowed just one baserunner over the next three innings on his way to a quality start, a result that seemed impossible after how he started the game. Through six innings, Verlander allowed just two earned runs on 98 pitches and slightly lowered his season ERA from 3.66 to 3.60.

Darvish, who is usually dominant against the Mets, was unable to hold the 3-1 lead given to him by his offense. Francisco Lindor continued his recent hot stretch by hitting an opposite field homer that just sailed over the left field wall in the third inning and Vogelbach drove in his second run of the night with an RBI single in the fifth to tie the game.

A Ha-Seong Kim double with one out in the seventh appeared to give the Padres a late scoring threat to break the tie, but Tommy Pham played the ball hit by Kim conservatively in left field, prompting Kim to decide to stretch a triple before Pham uncorked a laser to throw him out. Kim’s curious decision to go for three bases wound up costing the Padres as Juan Soto doubled in the next at-bat which would have surely scored Kim, but instead Brooks Raley and Adam Ottavino were able to combine for a scoreless inning.

The game headed to extra innings tied as the Mets failed to score with the bases loaded and one out in the ninth, but they made up for it and more as Jeff McNeil ambushed Tom Cosgrove by doubling down the right field line on the first pitch of the 10th inning to put the Mets ahead. Francisco Álvarez subsequently drove in McNeil before Lindor drove in two, his second and third RBIs of the night, to crack the game wide open and make it 7-3.

A two-run home run by Machado with one out in the bottom of the inning made it a two-run game, but David Robertson fought off the last two batters of the inning to give the Mets a hard-fought and well-deserved win.

Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports

Player of the Game

Álvarez continues to swing a scorching bat, as he went 4-for-5 against San Diego pitchers in this game. Although he didn’t hit any homers like he often does, Álvarez recorded the first four-hit game of his career and drove in the Mets’ second run of the 10th inning to provide some massive insurance en route to the team’s sixth win in a row.

On Deck

The series with the Padres will continue on Saturday night with a 10:10 p.m. ET first pitch. The pitching matchup will see David Peterson (2-6, 6.61 ERA) face off against Blake Snell (5-7, 3.03 ERA), both of whom are pitching some of their best baseball of the season. The game will be broadcast on SNY.

The post Four-Run 10th Leads Mets to Sixth Straight Win, 7-5 Over Padres appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Good morning, Mets fans.

The Mets lost their seventh game in a row on Friday in embarrassing fashion as they fell to the Pirates 14-7. A poor outing from Tylor Megill and defensive blunders put the game out of reach early despite the Mets’ best effort at a comeback in the ninth inning. The seven-game losing streak is the Mets’ longest since they lost seven straight from June 23 to June 29 in 2019 and it puts them four games under .500 for the first time since 2021. To add insult to injury, the Braves and Phillies are riding six-game win streaks while the Marlins’ own six-game win streak just came to an end last night.

Latest Mets News

Tomás Nido cleared waivers after being designated for assignment earlier in the week, and will accept an outright to Syracuse if he is not traded.

In more concerning news, Pete Alonso was diagnosed with a bone bruise and sprain of his left wrist. While he fortunately avoided a fracture, the typical time for recovery from this injury is three-to-four weeks. As he was placed on the 10-day IL, Luis Guillorme was recalled from Triple-A Syracuse to replace him.

Zach Muckenhirn was also recalled from Triple-A on Friday, with Stephen Nogosek being designated for assignment.

Joel Sherman of the New York Post talked to Billy Eppler amidst this dreadful stretch for the Mets, and Eppler expressed support in the coaching staff and the team to right the ship.

The Mets are hiring a Biomechanical Analyst. The page to apply for the position is linked here.

Latest MLB News

The Astros placed Yordan Álvarez on the 10-day injured list with right oblique discomfort.

Chris Sale has a stress reaction in his scapula, an injury that will require rest and rehab. He will be re-evaluated in three-to-four weeks.

Per MLB insider Héctor Gómez, Elly De La Cruz will pay 10% of his career salary earnings to Big League Advantage, a company that minor leaguers tend to take loans from due to low bonuses and minor league salaries.

The Nationals released relief pitcher Erasmo Ramírez who had been designated for assignment earlier in the week. The 33-year-old former Met has pitched to a 6.33 ERA in 27 innings out of the Washington bullpen despite a strong 2022 in which he posted a 2.92 ERA in 86 1/3 innings pitched.

The Blue Jays reinstated pitcher Mitch White from the 60-day injured list and designated Anthony Bass for assignment in a corresponding move.

Former Met Óliver Pérez threw the last pitch of his career on Thursday night in the Mexican League. The 41-year-old enjoyed a long MLB career and pitched in the big leagues as recently as last year.

Rustin Dodd of The Athletic wrote about Zack Greinke and why he continues to be effective even at 39 years of age.

The Cape Cod Baseball League announced a streaming partnership with D1Baseball for the 2023 season, allowing games in the CCBL to be streamed completely free of charge for fans.

Latest on MMO

In the latest Mets Minors Recap, Colby Morris highlighted Joey Lucchesi‘s strong performance for Triple-A Syracuse.

Michael Famulari wrote about Francisco Álvarez‘s two-homer game against the Braves on Thursday.

Christian De Block analyzed Justin Verlander‘s disappointing performance in Atlanta on Thursday.

Chris Bello wrote about the reports that the Mets have been scouting Alexis Díaz.

MMO is searching for a new editor. Read this tweet for details if interested.

On This Date in Mets History

Birthdays: Ken Singleton (76)

The post Morning Briefing: Mets Lose Seven Straight For First Time Since 2019 appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

On March 31, the Syracuse Mets season is set to begin on the road against the Worcester Red Sox. In advance of that game, the Mets have announced the Opening Day roster:

Starting Pitchers

• Tylor Megill, RHP
• José Butto, RHP
• Joey Lucchesi, LHP
• Humberto Mejia, RHP
• Denyi Reyes, RHP

After losing the spring training battle for the vacant rotation spot, Megill has been tabbed as the Opening Day starter. He will be followed by Lucchesi, who is returning from Tommy John surgery.

Butto was named MMN’s No. 13 ranked prospect. Mejia and Reyes were signed to minor league deals. The Mets recently Dylan Bundy, but he has not yet been named to the roster and will likely begin the season in extended spring.

Relief Pitchers

• Jeff Brigham, RHP
• Tony Dibrell, RHP
• Grant Hartwig, RHP
• T.J. McFarland, LHP
• Zach Muckenhirn, LHP
• Eric Orze, RHP
• Bubby Rossman, RHP
• Josh Walker, LHP
• William Woods, RHP
• Jimmy Yacabonis, RHP

The Syracuse bullpen is set to be very strong. Hartwig and Orze are top 30 prospects with Walker being previously named as one. Yacabonis and McFarland are trying to re-establish themselves as Major League caliber relievers. Of the group, only Brigham is on the 40-man roster giving him the best bet to be the Mets first call up.

Rossman signed with the Mets after pitching for Team Israel in the WBC and we recently did an interview with the hard-throwing right-hander.

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Catchers

• Francisco Álvarez
• Nick Meyer
• Michael Pérez

The obvious focus here is Álvarez and his continued development behind the plate. He’s considered the Mets’ best prospect and the top-catching prospect in baseball.

Meyer is a glove-first catcher. Pérez returns after he was designated for assignment last year.

Infielders

• Jonathan Araúz
• Danny Mendick
• Jose Peraza
• Ronny Mauricio
• Mark Vientos
• DJ Stewart
• Brett Baty

The Syracuse infield is loaded with Mets top prospects in Baty, Mauricio, and Vientos, and the four other players in the group all have major league experience. This infield might be better than a few teams in the major leagues. Interesting that the Mets listed Stewart in the infield given the entirety of his big league time has come in the corner outfield.

Outfielders

• Lorenzo Cedrola
• Khalil Lee
• Carlos Cortes

Pretty clearly the weakest spot of the Syracuse roster though it will improve once veteran Abraham Almonte is healthy. Mendick, Peraza, and Stewart do have experience in the outfield as well.

All joking aside, this Syracuse Mets roster would likely take a couple of games from the likes of the A’s or Reds in a deep series. The lineup is going to be tough for opposing pitchers to manage and the pitching staff is good enough to keep Syracuse in most games.

The post Álvarez, Baty Highlight Syracuse Mets’ Opening Day Roster appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

The New York Mets have reported catchers Francisco Álvarez and Nick Meyer have been cut from major league camp. Álvarez has been optioned to Triple-A Syracuse, and Meyer has been reassigned to minor league camp.

Entering spring training, Álvarez said it was his goal to make the Opening Day roster. However, with the Mets wanting him to continue to work on his defense behind the plate and the Omar Narváez signing this offseason, the odds were stacked against him.

Álvarez was also held back by offseason ankle surgery. As a result, the team has brought him along slowly this spring. Buck Showalter has been impressed with his work this spring saying of him, “He has the skills to say when, not if…We think Francisco has the chance to not only be a quality player, but a quality teammate. That’s the constant thing you hear is how much pitchers love to throw to him and how engaged he is.”

On the “when, not if” part of Showalter’s statement, he is making clear the organization believes Álvarez can be strong behind the plate, but he is not there yet. On that front, one important consideration with Álvarez is he has never caught more than 80 games in a season.

While fans were pushing for him to make the team as a platoon option at designated hitter, the organization had more interest in developing Álvarez, the top catching prospect in the game, into a player capable of being their starting option behind the plate at the major league level

In addition to Álvarez being cut, Meyer was as well. Meyer, 26, was the Mets sixth round draft pick in the 2018 draft out of California Polytechnic State University.

When Meyer was drafted by the Mets, he was known for three things: (1) his defense behind the plate; (2) his mustache; and (3) his being born with two left thumbs. Meyer has been as advertised behind the plate, and his hitting has been better than expected.

Last season, Meyer split time between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse. Over 79 games, he hit .233/.355/.353 with 10 doubles, one triple, six homers, and 37 RBI. He was successful in 14 of 18 stolen base attempts.

The post Francisco Álvarez Optioned to Minors appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

No. 1 Francisco Álvarez, C

B/T: R/R     Age: November 19, 2001 (21)
Ht: 5’10″       Wt: 233 lb.
ETA: 2023 Previous Rank: 1
Acquired: Signed during the 2018 International Free Agency Period
2022 Stats (AA/AAA): 112 games, 495 PAs, 22 2B, 27 HR, 78 RBIs, 70 BB, 123 K, .260/.374/.511/.885

Probably to no one’s surprise, Francisco Álvarez is the Mets top prospect for the third consecutive season. Signed during the 2018 International Free Agency Period, Álvarez has skyrocketed in the prospect rankings. The rise started when it became clear that he would be an impact bat at a premium position.

Last season, Álvarez began the season at Double-A and slashed .277/.368/.553 for roughly the first three months of the season. The Mets then moved him to Triple-A in early July and there were some early struggles for Álvarez. He hit .186/.314/.339 in August but he rebounded to hit .362/.486/.596 in September.

The Mets called him up for their big series against the Braves in late September when it became abundantly clear that he was their best option to DH vs lefties. He got 14 plate appearances between that series and the last series against the Nationals. He also managed to land on the postseason roster but did not get the start at DH against Blake Snell. Álvarez underwent ankle surgery in the offseason after missing some time with an ankle injury last season.

Here are some of the good things about Álvarez from his write-up blurbs from Keith Law and MLB Pipeline:

“Álvarez knows the zone well and will take his walks — also like many young hitters, he’s still working overall on swing decisions. The combination of loud contact and ever-improving approach could make him an above-average hitter in the end.” – MLB Pipeline

“He has a tremendous swing for generating that hard contact, with great balance throughout, excellent hand acceleration, and good use of his lower half to drive the ball.” – Keith Law

FanGraphs expressed some amount of caution against Álvarez’s bat, saying:

“Álvarez only ran a 75% Z-contact and 66% overall contact rate in the minors, which is near the bottom of the big league catching continuum, and almost identical to Joey Bart and Jorge Alfaro.”

FanGraphs did remind everyone that Álvarez has a way better approach than Alfaro and way more power than Bart so do not be too alarmed by those invocations. The skinny on Álvarez’s offense is that he will hit for a lot of power and his swing decisions will decide whether or not he can be one of the best offensive catchers in baseball or an above average one. I know that can be said about most prospects but it does speak to the expected power output (and the lack of offense at catcher) for Álvarez that his offense can be carried by that almost by itself.

Just to get an idea of Álvarez’s bat, in 2022 MLB catchers hit .222/.295/.367 with a .293 wOBA and 89 wRC+. ZiPS. FanGraph’s projections has a 21 year old Álvarez hitting .220/.318/.411 with 21 homers and a .319 wOBA. Some fans may not be overly impressed by that overall slash but remember, ZiPS is a projection system so it is meant to weigh the good and the bad. It is also accounting for a 21 year old with roughly 200 plate appearances at AAA, where he did not exactly tear it up, to step into the majors tomorrow. Despite that, it still projects Álvarez to be an above average offensive catcher on day one in the major leagues.

Francisco Álvarez makes his Grapefruit League catching debut. 👀 pic.twitter.com/GawYUeg8mF

— Mets Player Development (@MetsPlayerDev) March 3, 2023

Now regarding his defense, the Mets did not let Álvarez catch any starts from Max Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, and Chris Bassitt. While Álvarez is a big body catcher and not as athletic as say, J.T. Realmuto, he has taken strides with his defense. Despite that, the general consensus with Álvarez is that his defense will likely be average to below-average.

Keith Law of The Athletic had this to say about his defense: “Scouts were more bearish on his defense when he moved to Triple A and had to catch better stuff, although the consensus is still that he can stay there, even just as a bat-first catcher who could stand to clean up some of his blocking and receiving.”

That seems to be the sentiment based on his other prospect blurbs from FanGraphs, MLB Pipeline and well, the Mets actions this off-season. By signing Omar Narváez and giving Tomás Nido an extension, both of whom are rated as good defenders, they have pretty much decided that Álvarez will not be in the Majors until they feel that he is ready to handle the big league pitching staff.

On the one hand, the Syracuse pitching staff should have plenty of MLB caliber arms so that should help Álvarez improve his receiving and framing. On the other hand, Narváez is not going to be easily displaced, judging by his contract. The Mets have some veteran pitchers on their staff and teams have historically given their star pitchers preference to personal catchers. It should not be a surprise to anyone if Scherzer and Justin Verlander strongly prefer working with Narváez and Nido, which in turn could cause Álvarez to be in AAA longer than he needs to be.

If Álvarez’s bat is too good to keep in the minors and he’s ready to handle the MLB staff, I would bet they go with three catchers and essentially have Álvarez replace Darin Ruf as the DH against lefties while catching regularly when he is not a DH.

Álvarez is close to being a regular in the Majors but it won’t be on Opening Day (barring an injury). I think he will force his way up by June at some point though and, hopefully, he will run away with the job.

The post MMO Top 30 Prospects: No. 1 Francisco Álvarez appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Good morning, Mets fans!

Mets manager Buck Showalter announced on Thursday that catcher and Mets top prospect Francisco Álvarez will catch the back end of today’s game vs. Washington. Álvarez is in competition with his fellow teammates Ronny Mauricio, Brett Baty and Mark Vientos, to try and seal a spot on the major league roster.

Buck Showalter says that Francisco Álvarez will catch the back end of tomorrow's game: pic.twitter.com/KJuUNTjR60

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 2, 2023

Now onto the morning briefing!

Latest Mets News

According to Tim Healey of Newsday, Buck Showalter noted that pitching coach Jeremy Hefner and current team Puerto Rico and Washington Nationals bullpen coach Ricky Bones spoke about not using Mets closer Edwin Díaz on back-to-back nights. “They know what we’re thinking now,” Showalter said. Diaz himself confirmed that he will not pitch on back-to-back days on the Foul Territory podcast.

Former Mets third baseman David Wright says he will return to Citi Field on August 10 to emcee the NYPD vs. FDNY charity game. This will be the first time Wright will be at the stadium since his last major league game in 2018.

Anthony DiComo of MLB.com reports that SNY’s opening weekend netted an audience of 169,000 viewers, making it the highest viewership over a two-game span in Mets spring training history. The games ranked second and fourth all-time out of 179 spring broadcasts.

Anne Hayes of Syracuse.com reports that Mets outfielder Khalil Lee failed to appear in court. Lee’s reason for not appearing in court is because he is currently at spring training with the Mets in Florida. After the news of the incident surfaced, the Mets designated Lee for assignment, removing him off the 40-man roster but still extended him an invite to spring training. Lee was arraigned on February 2nd after an arrest warrant last summer that accused him of a domestic incident against his partner.

Latest MLB News

Major League Baseball has tapped FanDuel as their official North American sports betting partner. According to Boardroom.TV, FanDuel will gain the rights to use MLB branding in its products, platforms, and marketing campaigns, and will additionally be able to stream MLB.TV’s Free Game of the Day through its sportsbook app and FanDuel+

Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com writes about Toronto Blue Jays outfielder George Springer helped Sanchez’s son deal with his stuttering, as Springer grew up the same way, along with being a positive influence on all their lives.

Shawn Spradling of the WBC Central podcast tweets that Baseball United, a league based in Dubai, will be the first ever professional baseball league in the Middle East and South Asia. The ownership group features former major leaguers, such as Barry Larkin, Mariano Rivera and Adrian Beltre. The inaugural franchises for Baseball United will be announced after the conclusion of the World Baseball Classic.

Juan Toribio of MLB.com talks about pitcher Noah Syndergaard and his quest to regain his velocity, how he can potentially throw hard again and whether he will even need to try and do so or not.

Latest on MMO

Ronny Mauricio Continues Torrid Spring Start

On This Date in Mets History

Birthdays: Dilson Herrera (29), Jorge Julio (44), Jack DiLauro (80)

The post Morning Briefing: Francisco Álvarez To Catch End of Today’s Game appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Photo by Ed Delany of MMO

Francisco Álvarez is up and ready to go for Mets camp. The organization’s No. 1 prospect is already in Port St. Lucie, Florida as we await the rest of pitchers and catcher to report to spring training.

Omar Narváez is already in Port St. Lucie to work with Francisco Álvarez 🙌 pic.twitter.com/n7TODRDyrc

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) February 6, 2023

Álvarez made his 2022 goal come true by making it to the major leagues. Álvarez would like to make it to the big leagues out of camp this year but the Mets appear to have other plans with the addition of Omar Narvaez this winter, along with the return of Tomas Nido and Michael Perez.

BP for Francisco Álvarez 💪 pic.twitter.com/4OLnJ6TFKC

— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) February 6, 2023

The good news for the top prospect is Narváez is he’s expected to mentor Álvarez and is excited at the idea of doing so.

But Álvarez isn’t the only news story to come out of Port St. Lucie. There’s been a large showing of familiar faces at the team facilities. The official report date isn’t until Feb. 15 for pitchers and Feb. 20 for players.

Prospects Brett Baty and Mark Vientos are down in Florida along with Brandon Nimmo and Eduardo Escobar.

“We had a nice group come out today, so I’m really excited. This is what I’ve been waiting for since signing,” Nimmo told SNY. “There’s a lot of expectations on this team, and that comes from without and within. We know we have a good team, so we’re wanting to get this thing started and get the team chemistry going and start to learn the new guys so that we can all be pulling the same end of the rope. That’s all a part of spring training, so we’re excited to get started.”

Mets players involved in the World Baseball Classic will report to facilities earlier. Pitchers like Adam Ottavino will report to camp by Feb. 13 and position players including Nimmo, Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, and Francisco Lindor will report by Feb. 16.

Baseball is almost here and the Mets seem ready to start their 2023 season.

The post Watch: Francisco Álvarez Get To Work in Port St. Lucie appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

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.

The post MLB Pipeline Says Mets Have Two of MLB’s Best Catching Prospects appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Francisco Álvarez got his first taste of the big leagues last season, and now he’s ready for more. MLB’s top prospect told journalist César Sequera Ramos that he was “100% sure” he would be on the Mets Opening Day roster in 2023.

Álvarez went 2-12 in five games for the Mets at the end of the season, with one of those two hits being his first-career major-league home run. If Álvarez is to make the Opening Day roster, he could see time a right-handed DH option opposite Daniel Vogelbach, but he believes he’s prepared to be a big-league catcher.

Álvarez told Ramos that he feels his defense is ready for the big leagues, but that the team asked him to improve his English to be could better communicate with pitchers.

Mets top prospect Francisco Álvarez is working on his defense. pic.twitter.com/opfGcVI1pS

— Metsmerized Online (@Metsmerized) January 11, 2023

While Álvarez’s biggest asset will be his offensive prowess, he knows he will need to improve defensively to reach his full potential. To do so, Álvarez revealed he’s been getting advice from long-time catchers Robinson Chirinos and Yadier Molina, and also soon plans on speaking with José Molina.

If the Mets do decide to carry Álvarez on their Opening Day roster, they will have an interesting decision to make. While it may make some sense to use him as a right-handed DH and pinch-hitting option with the occasional catching start mixed in, that would limit his ability to get important reps behind the plate. Meanwhile, if he becomes the team’s primary catcher, that could mean the Mets having to depart with Tomás Nido since they just signed Omar Narváez to a two-year $15 million deal this offseason.

Regardless, Álvarez’s development on both sides will be one of the most fascinating things to watch for the Mets this season. His presence in the lineup undoubtedly gives the offense a power bat outside of Pete Alonso, which the team desperately needs.

If his defense is where he claims it to be, Álvarez’s run as the team’s everyday catcher could be starting sooner rather than later.

The post Álvarez Says He Expects To Be on Opening Day Roster appeared first on Metsmerized Online.

Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Surprise, surprise: Francisco Álvarez is Mets Minors’ Top Hitter of 2022. The award came down to a three legged race between Álvarez, Brett Baty, and Mark Vientos, but Álvarez won out.

Álvarez, a consensus top prospect in baseball, he tore through the Mets system in 2022, culminating in his Major League debut in late September and his first Major League home run at Citi Field.

Álvarez, who turned 21 in late November, began the 2022 season in Double-A Binghamton where he crushed to the tune of a .922 OPS with 16 homers. After 67 games in Binghamton, Álvarez received a promotion to the Syracuse Mets, the Mets’ Triple-A affiliate.

The young catcher played 45 games in Triple-A, where he posted a .822 OPS with 6 long balls and an impressive .382 on-base percentage. The .382 OBP is notable considering he averaged just .234, showing an ability to still get on base and impact the game offensively when base hits are not falling.

His defense remains under scrutiny and is considered to be easily the weakest part of his game. However, the Mets seem to be ready to meet this task head on with the recent reported move of Glenn Sherlock to catching instructor. Plus, with reports also indicating that the front office could look to address the DH position internally, Álvarez could be a really effective option as a designated hitter too.

Álvarez has a strong case to make for breaking camp with the 2023 Mets but, even if he doesn’t, his time as the Mets’ full-time catcher won’t be far off and it should be his job to keep for the very long-term future.

The post Mets Minors 2022 Top Hitter: Francisco Álvarez appeared first on Metsmerized Online.