Photo by Ed Delany, MMN

With his recent hot streak, there is renewed focus on Francisco Álvarez. While the crux of the attention has been with his offense, there needs to be increased attention to the strides he has made defensively.

As noted by MMN‘s Michael Mayer, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies pitchers have taken note of how Álvarez has worked hard to improve his defense. Notably, they have said, “they’ve seen significant progress over the last two months and have been impressed with his game plans.”

This was a topic Josh Hejka talked about when he was on with Mayer and Sal Manzo of MMO Weekly. On the topic of Álvarez’s defense, he said, “He’s my favorite catcher in the organization to throw to.” The reason Hejka said this is his belief Álvarez has confidence and a plan behind every pitch he calls, and he does an extremely good job calling and framing pitches. Overall, Álvarez is “one of my favorite catchers I’ve thrown to in my life.”

This is the feedback which are staring to be reflected in recent scouting reviews and prospect publications. On that point, when Kiley McDaniel of ESPN named Álvarez the top prospect in the minor leagues, he noted Álvarez’s long track record of elite performance and the fact he is “good enough to stay back there.”

If we go back to Spring Training, Álvarez said he wanted to make the majors during the 2022 season. He certainly backed up those words during Spring Training impressing the coaching staff, specifically Buck Showalter. However, Showalter did say he believed Álvarez needed to improve behind the plate before the team could consider calling him up to Triple-A or the majors.

Based upon what we are hearing from Mets minor league pitchers and scouts, it seems Álvarez has made a significant step forward defensively. With his hitting the ball harder and further than anyone, and with his defense significantly improving, the chances we see him in Flushing at some point this season have risen exponentially.