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Francisco Álvarez Impresses in Cyclones Debut

By Michael Mayer

May 26, 2021 No comments

On a windy Tuesday night in Coney Island, the New York Mets No. 1 prospect, Francisco Àlvarez, made his High-A debut.

This is a significant jump for the 19-year-old who had only played fifteen games at the Low-A level before getting the bump. During his snapshot with the St. Lucie Mets, Alvarez hit .417/.567/.646 with an OPS of 1.213 and seven extra-base hits. Numbers like these certainly made it challenging for the Mets organization not to promote him to Brooklyn. 

Àlvarez joined the organization’s other top prospects, Ronny Mauricio and Brett Baty, forming one of the best line-ups in the MiLB. The three will hit together in the middle of the order at three, four, and five creating a severe problem for pitchers.

Even though Àlvarez is known for his offensive prowess, he made his presence known immediately on defense to start the game. Making an excellent pick and tag on the outfield assist from Zach Ashford, the Cyclones were able to make the double play and get out of a jam.

In the bottom of the first, Antoine Duplantis and Mauricio pushed singles through the holes allowing Àlvarez to step to the plate for the first time. The powerful righty smashed a line drive to center field, but Zach Watson came on to make the nice running play. Nonetheless, a fantastic swing that Cyclone fans can get used to.

Àlvarez certainly needs more work when it comes to receiving and framing pitches at higher velocities. After changing to the new hybrid style of catching in training camp, his ability to block balls in the dirt has improved along with his overall defensive game. The only part that didn’t need improving was his cannon of an arm, which he put on display on Tuesday night. 

Francisco got three more at-bats as the dreadful night for Brooklyn went on. It wasn’t until his very last plate appearance, trailing 8-1, that he saw results from his good swings. Crushing a liner to left, Kyle Stowers made an excellent play to cut the ball off and hold Àlvarez to a thunderous single. A significant milestone for the Venezuelan native as it was his first hit at the High-A level.

He finished the night 1-for-4 as Brooklyn dropped their series opener to the Aberdeen IronBirds 8-1.

Àlvarez will immediately impact this Cyclones lineup, taking some of the pressure off of his prospect counterparts Baty and Mauricio. There’s no telling how much damage the Mets top three hitting prospects can do together. This is a rare occurrence that does not happen very often, and fans should enjoy it while they can. 

Welcome to Brooklyn Francisco Àlvarez! 

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Written by Michael Mayer

Lifelong Mets fan born in 1987, lived In Maine my whole life so I get my Mets fix from MLB.tv and watching Minor League games. Love the game, coached High School baseball for 5 years. Follow me on twitter @mikemayermmo

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