How Will He Thrive in Twenty-Five?: Francisco Álvarez

[Edgy MD]

Francisco Álvarez has shown he can be the best hitter on the team for a month at a time. He has also shown he can be the worst for two months at a time.

Neither of those patterns will necessarily continue, but what you can expect to carry on is his engaged, energetic defense, and that's a pretty nice constant to have around.

He's probably one of the hardest swingers in Mets history, but that leads to a lot of power-loading, which can definitely create mechanical issues, changing the length of his swing from pitch to pitch or altering the plane of his bat mid-swing. Mike Piazza — who provided plenty of power while being a statue in the batter's box — was a guest in camp this spring, and maybe he got a chance to provide some input.

I don't know, but the input I need is from you. What will Francisco Álvarez' season look like in retrospect, come November.

[FIMG=340]https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/Francisco-Alvarez-1.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=1024[/FIMG] [FIMG=360]https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/Francisco-Alvarez-2-1.jpg[/FIMG]

[FIMG=362]https://www.si.com/.image/ar_1.91%2Cc_fill%2Ccs_srgb%2Cfl_progressive%2Cg_faces:center%2Cq_auto:good%2Cw_1200/MTk5MTcwNTkyNzc0MDM5NDM5/francisco-alvarez-throw.jpg[/FIMG] [FIMG=338]https://empiresportsmedia.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=858,height=483,fit=crop,quality=80,format=auto,onerror=redirect,metadata=none/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/MLB-NLCS-New-York-Mets-at-Los-Angeles-Dodgers-24546288.jpg[/FIMG]

[Cowtipper]

.230 BA, 28 homers, 72 RBI, good energy that legitimizes the .301 OBP he'll have.

Let's remember he's still just 23 and has the potential to be a 40 homer catcher in 5-6 years.

[MFS62]

.230 BA, 28 homers, 72 RBI, good energy that legitimizes the .301 OBP he'll have.

 

 

That sounds about right, with maybe 80 RBI.

He won't hit for a higher average until cuts down on that violent swing.

Later

[Lefty Specialist]

Supposedly JD Martinez worked with him on cutting down that swing last year and he did seem to hit better toward the end of the season.

.240/20/65. He'll be down in the order most of the time so he won't get as many RBI chances.

[metirish]

I don't see him thriving

.220 - 15 HR - 42 RBI , benched for a time

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'm kind of iffy on him too. I fear he may fizzle like Ike Davis did.

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, but he hasn't bumped into David Wright chasing a popup on the mound, causing both of them to disappear into nothingness like two henchmen in Batman (1966) who have been mistakenly rehydrated with toxic heavy water.

Has he?

[metirish]

Per Gelbs , Alvarez fractured his hamate bone in his left hand and will require surgery, out 6 to 8 weeks

[Cowtipper]

Knock 10 home runs off my prediction above and all else remains the same. Edited March 10, 2025 by Cowtipper

[ashie62]

.198 12-45