CHICAGO — Francisco Alvarez has said his case.
The Mets’ impending roster crunch on the catcher spot has thrust the membership’s prized rookie backstop into the highlight. But his current play deserves the highlight as nicely. Over his final 10 video games, the 21-year-old Alvarez has hit .265 with a 1.036 OPS, 4 dwelling runs and two doubles. He has six homers since he was known as as much as take the place of Omar Narvaez on the roster April 4.
“He’s turned into a pro on us,” stated Mets hitting coach Jeremy Barnes.
It’s not simply his play on the plate, his play behind it has improved vastly. His pop occasions have improved, his framing has improved and he’s executed a great job blocking balls within the filth. Pitchers have favored throwing to him. Last week in Washington, Max Scherzer instructed him he was joyful to have lastly earned a win with him.
“I was telling Alvy, ‘I finally got you a good one,’” Scherzer stated. “I feel like I can execute and we can finally start getting on a good page together.”
Trying to develop expertise within the Major Leagues isn’t preferrred and the Mets had beforehand deliberate to start out him in Triple-A to additional that growth however they have been compelled to deliver him up after Narvaez strained his calf through the second sequence of the season in Milwaukee. There have been some tough moments.
Alvarez wasn’t probably the most affected person hitter early within the season. He swung at excessive fastballs and he chased pitches out of the zone. For the entire hype surrounding him and the large numbers he put up in Double-A and Triple-A in 2022, he was comparatively inexperienced and it confirmed.
“People underestimate the jump from Triple-A to the big leagues,” Barnes stated. “Low-A to High-A is twice as hard as Double-A. Double-A to Triple-A is twice as hard. The big leagues from Triple-A is like 10 times as hard. It’s just such a big jump. Him Brett Baty and Mark Vientos — with all these guys, they’re so talented but their weaknesses weren’t as exposed as much down there. And that’s not a knock because everyone up here has weaknesses. Once they got up here, it was a little bit of a punch in the mouth. Like sometimes you have quick success and then over time, the [weaknesses] show up. But they were able to point out their flaws pretty quickly.”
But the one factor that stands out about Alvarez is that he’s proactive in desirous to get higher. The coaches rave about his work ethic, his willpower and the time he spends dedicating himself to working within the cages, working with catching coach Glenn Sherlock within the bullpen and video.
Alvarez went to the hitting coaches straight away with an eagerness to place in work and enhance. The work might not have paid off straight away, because the rookie nonetheless hit simply .194 over his first 12 video games (37 plate appearances), however there was nonetheless progress made.
“We had a conversation, and this is all a testament to who like the type of kid this is,” Barnes stated. “We were like, ‘Hey, we’ve got to make changes. We need to change our approach, we need to maybe we need to tighten up the swing a little bit.’ And it was just like he didn’t even bat an eye.”
The Mets shortened Alvarez’s highly effective swing. They made just a few different minor tweaks, however the basis was there.
“That gets me the most excited watching him moving forward,” Barnes stated. “If something isn’t going well, he has the mindset where he can go make the change. He’s proven that he is able to make a change like that at this level.”
Alvarez began recognizing how he was being pitched and he discovered the way to sluggish the sport down. The emotion he had in his earlier at-bats is gone.
“He’s had more unemotional at-bats,” stated supervisor Buck Showalter. “His want-to is through the roof.”
Alvarez had a two-run blast Wednesday night time at Wrigley Field to briefly give the Mets a lead in opposition to the Chicago Cubs. The energy was apparent in the best way he drove the ball proper via the Lake Michigan winds, which have been blowing in from the outfield making life troublesome for right-handed hitters.
“I’ve just been refining my plan and working a lot with Jeremy and the rest of the hitting coaches,” he stated via a translator. “I think that’s helped me a lot.”
The Mets have an issue on their palms with 5 catchers they want to preserve, however solely two with choices: Michael Perez and Alvarez. Tomas Nido and Narvarez must be coming off the injured record shortly. The visitors jam at dwelling plate has been nicely documented.
It’s out of the palms of Alvarez. He has executed all he can do to maintain his spot on the 26-man roster.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com