Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extra Base and Joel Sherman of the New York Post reports the New York Mets will call-up Francisco Álvarez tomorrow. The immediate plan is solely to get him a look at DH.
Álvarez, 20, played 112 games between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse. He hit .260/.374/.511 with 22 doubles, 27 homers, and 78 RBI.
He is not only the top prospect in the Mets farm system, but he’s also the top overall prospect in the game. If not for an ankle injury, he might’ve been called up to the majors sooner.
With respect to the ankle injury, it caused him to miss over two weeks. Since returning from the injury, he’s played 13 games hitting .362/.483/.596 with two doubles, three homers, and 10 RBI.
In six of those 13 games, Álvarez served as the DH. Of note, eight of his 27 homers this season came as a DH. In his 112 games this season he had a 134 wRC+.
As noted by MMO’s Mathew Brownstein, Álvarez’s wRC+ was the sixth highest mark among 20 year olds with 450+ plate appearances. To that end, it’s no surprise his bat forced him up to the majors.
There were certainly other factors in the decision. Those include Syracuse’s season ending. Mostly, it is due to the struggles of Darin Ruf and Mark Vientos as the right-handed DH platoon options.
While Álvarez has hit right-handed pitching well (.835 OPS), he annihilates left-handed pitching. In 132 plate appearances, he has a 1.019 OPS. That could be a boost for a Mets team whose right-handed DHs have combined for an 85 wRC+ against left-handed pitching.
Of course, Álvarez gives Buck Showalter some additional late inning options. In a game Álvarez does not start, he could present as a late inning pinch hitting option for James McCann or Tomás Nido.
Of note, both Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer were complimentary of Álvarez’s work behind the plate. This would suggest Álvarez should be fine for an inning or two.
However, asking him to get up to speed with an entire pitching staff in a week is a tall ask. Moreover, it would be difficult sitting McCann and Nido with their framing proficiency.
Whatever the case, in Spring Training, Álvarez set a goal of making the majors this season. He has now officially accomplished that goal. Seeing him do that, we should not be surprised if he has an impact now and potentially in the postseason.
