Another elite baseball prospect is making his way up to The Show this week.
Catcher Francisco Álvarez is being called up by the New York Mets ahead of their home opener on Friday, according to multiple reports. The 21-year-old is a consensus top-10 prospect in all of baseball, with some analysts viewing him as No. 1 overall.
Álvarez, who signed with the Mets as an international free agent in 2018, has been viewed in high regard for his power at the plate, among other things. He hit 24 homers in just 99 games with the Mets’ Single-A teams in 2021 and hit 27 homers over 112 games across Double-A and Triple-A last season. His stat line included 22 doubles, a .260 batting average and an .885 OPS.
While Álvarez opened the 2023 season in Triple-A, he actually finished 2022 with the Mets. He played in five games, going 2-for-12 with a home run.
Following offseason ankle surgery, Álvarez recently got off to another good start in the minors, going 4-for-16 with two homers and a 1.056 OPS.
His 2023 call-up is a corresponding move to the Mets placing starting catcher Omar Narváez on the IL with a left calf strain. The club said Narváez, who exited Wednesday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers early, is expected to miss 8-9 weeks.
Álvarez’s arrival could give New York an early season boost. Despite high preseason expectations and a monster payroll, the Mets have gone 3-4 as they’ve dealt with multiple injuries. It’s unclear if Álvarez or Tomas Nido will initially be the team’s primary catcher. But it might be only a matter of time before that job belongs to Álvarez, who becomes the latest top prospect to reach MLB this spring. New York Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe and St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Jordan Walker began the season in the majors, while Baltimore Orioles pitcher Grayson Rodriguez made his big-league debut Wednesday upon being called up earlier this week.
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