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Mets promote top prospect Alvarez to Brooklyn

June 4, 2021 Jim Dolan

Francisco Alvarez, the Mets’ number one prospect, made his Cyclones debut May 25.

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After he hit an impressive .417 in Low-A Port St. Lucie, the New York Mets decided to promote Francisco Alvarez, their number one prospect, to the High-A Brooklyn Cyclones. Alvarez, a 19-year-old catcher from Venezuela, is the rare combination of a good defensive catcher who can also hit for average and power.

“He has a special bat; when you hear the sound of the ball hitting off his bat, it’s different,” said Cyclones manager Ed Blankmeyer. “He’s got a good arm and his receiving and blocking are much better than when I first saw him at our alternate site.”

Alverez was signed as an international free agent and debuted as a Mets minor leaguer in 2019. He played with two rookie-level teams and hit a combined .312 along with seven home runs in 42 games. At the end of the 2019 season, he was named the number one prospect in the Appalachian Rookie League.

While sitting out last season due to the pandemic, Alvarez was selected in June to come to the Cyclones’ alternate summer site. In Brooklyn he worked out with pitchers on the Mets’ taxi squad who would be eventually called up to play at Citi Field for the abbreviated major league season. After 15 games to start the 2021 season at St. Lucie, he was promoted to Brooklyn when Cyclones catcher Hayden Senger was promoted to Double-A Binghamton.

Looking ahead to the rest of the season with Alvarez, Blankmeyer said, “I’m excited to have him here. He’s a young special talent that needs developing. He’s a hard-nosed kid who works very hard and is starting to reap the benefits of his work.”