Francisco Álvarez

Francisco Javier Álvarez

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 233 lb.

• Debut September 30, 2022

• Born November 10, 2001 in Guatire, Miranda Venezuela

BR page

Biographical Information

Catcher Francisco Álvarez was signed by the New York Mets on July 2, 2018 as an amateur free agent out of Venezuela. He began his professional career exactly one year later with the GCL Mets and was promoted to the Kingsport Mets of the Appalachian League before the end of the 2019 season. His combined batting line in 42 games was .312/.407/.510, with 7 homers and 26 RBIs. He made the Appy League All-Star team at the end of the year.

Being a catcher helped him secure an invitation to help out at the team's alternate training site while the minor league season was cancelled by COVID-19 in 2020. He returned to action in 2021, first with the St. Lucie Mets of the Low-A Southeast. 15 games of battering opposing pitchers to the tune of a .417 average earned a quick promotion to the Brooklyn Cyclones of the High-A East, where he played another 84 games but continued to hit well. He was named to the National League team for the 2021 Futures Game, played at Coors Field on July 11th, and hit a homer as a pinch-hitter against Marcos Diplan in the 6th inning. His overall batting line for the season was excellent: .262/.388/.554 in 99 games, with 18 doubles and 24 homers. He also scored 67 runs and drove in 70. He was named an organizational All-Star at the end of the season. He was again named to participate in the 2022 Futures Game. That season, he hit .260/.374/.511 in 112 games between the AA Binghamton Rumble Ponies and AAA Syracuse Mets, with 27 homers and 78 RBIs. On September 29th, news leaked out that he would be called up by the major league Mets for the final two series of the season, with the team in a close fight with the Atlanta Braves for first place in the NL East. By that point, he was ranked as the #1 prospect in baseball. In his debut on September 30th, he went 0 for 4 as the Mets' DH in a 5-2 loss to the Braves. He went 2 for 12 with 1 home run in his initial major league cup of coffee, but it was enough to convince the Mets to put him on their postseason roster. He struck out in his only at-bat as the Mets were upset by the San Diego Padres in the Wild Card Series.

In 2023, the Mets eased him into the starting catcher position, but he turned out to be one of the best hitters on a very disappointing team that fell out of contention quickly in spite of having a record payroll. He was the National League Rookie of the Month in July when he hit 8 homers, drove in 16 runs and slugged .623, being the first Mets player to win the award since current teammate Pete Alonso had done so three times in 2019. He ended up hitting .209 in 123 games, but showed some good power with 25 doubles and 63 RBIs. His OPS+ was 96 in spite of the low batting average. He improved that significantly in 2024, for a team that was also much improved. On August 19th, he had the first walk-off homer of his career off Seranthony Dominguez of the Baltimore Orioles at Citi Field. The homer came on a 3-0 pitch from Dominguez with one out in the 9th, giving New York a 4-3 win. It was just his 6th homer of the year, as he had been on the injured list from April 20th to June 11th with a torn ligament in his left thumb, the result of slipping on the basepaths, and after hitting three homers in June, had hit just one since then until the walk-off blast. He ended the season at .237 in 100 games, with 11 homers and 47 RBIs for an OPS+ of 101. In the postseason, his output improved with each series the Mets played: he was just 1 for 11 in their defeat of the Milwaukee Brewers in the Wild Card Series, then 3 for 15 against the Philadelphia Phillies in the Division Series, and 7 for 17 (.412) in their loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2024 NLCS.

Hopes for a healthy and productive season with the Mets in 2025 were quickly dashed as he broke a hamate bone in his left hand during batting practice at their spring training complex on March 8th. He had to undergo surgery and was expected to miss six to eight weeks.

Notable Achievements

• 20-Home Run Seasons: 1 (2023)

Further Reading

• Christina De Nicola: "How Mets' confidence in Alvarez is starting to pay off", mlb.com, October 19, 2024. [1]
• Anthony DiComo: "Baseball's top prospect is 20, powerful and laser-focused", mlb.com, September 29, 2022. [2]
• Anthony DiComo: "Mets to call up No. 1 prospect in baseball", mlb.com, September 30, 2022. [3]
• Anthony DiComo: "Mets' top prospect thrilled to be back behind plate", mlb.com, March 3, 2023. [4]
• Anthony DiComo: "What Mets seek from Álvarez after optioning top prospect", mlb.com, March 22, 2023. [5]
• Mark Feinsand: "Mets catcher Alvarez to miss 6-8 weeks with fractured left hand", mlb.com, March 9, 2025. [6]
• Bill Ladson: "Alvarez absolutely CRUSHES 1st walk-off hit of his career", mlb.com, August 20, 2024. [7]

Related Sites

• Francisco Álvarez on mlb.com
• BR Minors page