The New York Mets are calling their best prospect Francis Alvarez for this weekend’s pivotal three-game series against the Atlanta Braves, according to multiple reports Thursday.
Alvarez, a 20-year-old catcher, was ranked the No. 4 overall prospect in the ESPN midseason list published in August.
Signed as an international free agent from Venezuela in 2018, Alvarez has had a meteoric rise through the Mets’ minor league system over the past two years. He’s hitting .260/.374/.511 with 27 home runs this season while splitting time between Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse.
Although he missed three weeks in August with a right ankle injury, he finished the minor league season hitting .371 with a 1.107 OPS and three home runs in his last 35 at-bats for Syracuse.
A right-handed hitter, Alvarez could help the Mets at DH, especially against lefties, against whom he hit .315 with a 1.019 OPS this season.
New York has received little production from right-handed hitters Darin Ruf and the rookie Mark Winds in the DH position since they sent J. D. Davis to San Francisco by the trade deadline of August 2. the left handed batsman Daniel Vögelbach he is New York’s regular designated hitter against right-handed pitchers.
The Mets enter Friday night’s series opener in Atlanta holding on to a one-game lead over the Braves in the NL East. The division winner will earn a first-round bye, while the second-place finisher will be the NL’s top wild card and host a best-of-three postseason series beginning Oct. 7.
The web portal El Extrabase was the first to report that Álvarez is being summoned.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
We would love to give thanks to the writer of this post for this awesome material
New York Mets promote top prospect Francisco Álvarez