Mets Minors: Francisco Alvarez gets his shot

Player Focus Piece

Omar Narvaez is out of commission for an extended period of time which has left the Mets with no option but to activate their top prospect, Francisco Alvarez. On the front of, is Alvarez ready? We are all about to find out. We can expect Tomas Nido to see plenty of playing time but the Mets will not be bringing up Alvarez to sit on the bench. Or would they?

Buck Showalter is a great manager but his comments on Alvarez have made a number of Met pundits nervous. “It’s kind of like a backup quarterback that gets drafted out of college. Everybody knows he’s going to be a really good player, but the time he spends as a backup is very valuable too.” I understand that Tomas Nido is a borderline elite defensive catcher but his hitting will never be enough to make him a viable starter. Alvarez’s instincts and skills behind and at the plate will not be helped by having him sit on the sidelines.

Having watched Alvarez at AAA for the first few games of the season, one thing was very clear, Alvarez loves fastballs. He sits in the batter’s box and waits for a pitcher to groove a pitch without too much movement. This means that he makes crafty veterans look like pitching greats and fireballers look like chumps. This isn’t to say that Alvarez can’t hit a curveball but in the games he’s played so far he’s been waiting on the heat.

Expect pitchers in the majors to be aware of his focus on fastballs and for them to throw him pitches with quite a lot of movement. Let us hope that the Mets find ways to keep his bat in the lineup and lets

AAA – Syracuse Mets

Ronny Mauricio and Who is Playing Where?

The Mets have three top players in AAA whose best positions are all third base. Brett Baty has the inside track to be the future Met’s third baseman with Mark Vientos and Ronny Mauricio looking for other homes. On the bright side of organizational planning the Mets have begun the inevitable shift of Vientos to first. This will add flexibility to their future DH and allow the team to give him spot starts for both Baty and Alonso in the future.

On the less wise side of things the Mets have left Ronny Mauricio at shortstop. It’s hard to say what their thinking is on this decision. The scouting on Mauricio’s defense at short is out and it’s not at all optimistic. He’s big for the position and he has poor defensive statistics to show for it. The sensible thing would have been to shift him to the outfield but the Mets seem determined to hold him at short. Could this be to increase his trade value? In theory, but a bad defensive shortstop is a liability, not an asset.

● Francisco Alvarez – Alvarez only played in 4 games before being promoted but had an SLG of .688 at that time.
● Brett Baty – Baty was off to an amazing start before having a sore thumb and missing almost a week of playing time. He’s thankfully back in the lineup and knocking on Showalter’s door pointing out that Eduardo Escobar’s at bats are increasingly painful to watch.
● Ronny Mauricio – There has been a big positive change in Mauricio’s early season outings. He has begun striking out less and walking more. In 9 games he has only 6 strikeouts and 3 walks.
● Mark Vientos – Mark Vientos looks like a professional hitter. Watching him hit in AAA makes it easy to see that he has a swing that will make an impact in the majors. Tommy Pham and Daniel Vogelbach should be placed on notice.
● Bryce Montes de Oca – This injury is going to keep him our for all of 2023.
● Jose Butto – Butto has gotten off to an okay start but his peripheral numbers now match his “Ho-Hum” stuff. He remains a depth starter.
● Grant Hartwig – Adding to a growing list of players in AAA who belong in the majors. I have drunk the Hartwig kool aid and you should too.
● Jonathan Araúz – The 24 year old “journeyman” has got off to a very good start for AAA. That being said, he’s beginning to come back to earth.
● Danny Mendick – He’s 29 and not a prospect but I’ll point out that Mendick probably belongs in the majors as a Utility super sub.
● Carlos Cortes – Credit where credit is due, this on again off again prospect has finally begun showing that he can hit at the AAA level. Without power or a natural position, it may not matter.

AA – Binghamton Rumble Ponies

The Mets Ignore AA

The Mets are stacked at AAA and Advanced A but right now the Mets have little in the way of batting talent in Binghamton. That will change quickly if Kevin Parada and others continue to perform in Brooklyn but right now Dominic Hamel and Make Vasil are your reasons to watch.

● Dominic Hamel – While Hamel showed some control issues in game 1 he only gave up one hit and struck out seven.
● Mike Vasil – Yet to pitch.
● Hayden Senger – With Alvarez in the majors it would make sense for Senger to also see a promotion but he isn’t yet hitting significantly.
● JT Schwartz – It’s early but Schwartz’s early numbers at the plate are poor.
● Jose Peroza – Yet to play.

Advanced A – Brooklyn Cyclones

How Quickly Could Kevin Parada Move

The Mets were expected to begin Parada in Advanced A. He was drafted last year and has only had a taste of the minors. That being said, when you watch Parada’s at bats in Brooklyn you can see how much more mature a hitter he is in his approach from start to finish. He controls the strike zone with confidence and his swings look purposeful. I remember watching Mauricio at this level and thinking, “this guy can swing.” Looking at Parada I say to myself, “This guy knows how to hit.” This being said, I can’t imagine that we get too far into this season before we see Parada getting a promotion to AA.

● Kevin Parada – Parada looks like a star at the plate and is hitting with authority. His way too early, three games in stat line is .273/.467/.545 and it seems like he could maintain it.
● Alex Ramirez – The Mets returned Ramirez to Advanced A instead of giving him a promotion to Binghamton and he’s yet to prove their caution misguided.
● Blade Tidwell – Yet to pitch.
● D’Andre Smith – Yet to play.
● Tyler Stuart – This mid-tier prospect had a very nice first start to the season with 4.0 scoreless innings and 5 strikeouts.
● Cesar Berbesi – This smallish shortstop should not have been on too many radars but the Mets have him hitting in the middle of a stacked lineup and his early returns are outstanding.

Low A – Port St. Lucie Mets

A Number of Players Yet to be Seen

When will the Mets show Nick Morabito? Are Simon Juan or Willy Fanas going to need to wait for Rookie ball to begin to get into game action? Will the Mets ever see Robert Dominguez actually pitching on the mound after his international draft hype? Lots of questions and too early to be answered.

● Jett Williams – The top prospect at this level, Williams is leading off and doing okay in the early going but there aren’t too many stats to judge him from.
● Jacob Reimer – The Mets are splitting his time between first base and third. Defensively, he’s looked fine at both. Offensively, he also seems on target.
● Jawilme Rodriguez – 4.2 innings in his first outing with 7 strikeouts is a nice way to debut the season.