Photo by Ed Delany. MMN

Mets catching prospect Francisco Alvarez has had a much better start to his professional career than anyone could have reasonably anticipated. After hitting .462/.548/.846 in seven games in the Gulf Coast League, he was quickly promoted to the Kingsport Mets of the Appalachian League. Despite the higher level of competition and his being 3.5 years younger than league average he continues to hit well.

After a week which saw him go 9-for-16 at the plate with a double, homer, three RBI, and three walks, he is now hitting .346/.485/.500 in eight games with Kingsport, and he is hitting .404/.516/.673 for the season. With this hot stretch, he was also rated by Baseball America as the third hottest prospect in baseball. In rating him as such, Baseball America opined:

Alvarez skipped the Dominican Summer League and made his debut stateside with a bang. Alvarez’s hit tool is advanced, and he has worked on a five-game hit streak this week with an RBI in three consecutive games. It’s an aggressive assignment, but Alvarez is taking it in stride and showing why he was one of the premier 2018 international signings.

So far, Alvarez is showing why he received a higher signing bonus than Amed Rosario and Ronny Mauricio. He is also proving the Mets right for being aggressive with his original assignment and promotion. This is an exciting beginning to his professional career, and hopefully, this is a sign of things to come.