Francisco Alvarez

[Michael Reed]

Image courtesy of © Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

The way Francisco Alvarez is barreling the ball right now is something we have not seen from him since his debut in 2022, and it is as advertised.

In 2023, Alvarez showed flashes of his 70 grade raw power that was bestowed upon him coming up in the Mets farm system, hitting 25 home runs with a .431 slugging percentage. But that was still the tip of the iceberg with Alvarez, the fanbase felt like Alvarez had more power in the tank. Since then, Alvarez has gone through constant injuries that has limited his full potential. So far this season, The Francisco Alvarez that was promised is on display, and he is as advertised.

In 14 games played so far this season, Alvarez currently ranks in the 99th percentile in expected slug and barrel rate. His four home runs so far has shown the power that he knew was in there all along. to go with his incredible power so far, Alvarez also has a .312 xBA, light years above his previous seasons.

The past two seasons, Mets fans have been dumbfounded as to where this consistent power went. Some of that blame could be passed onto former Mets hitting coach Eric Chavez, who had a much different plan to use Alvarez than any previous hitting coach Alvarez had. “Last year you hit 25 homers. Did you think it was a good year? Because I didn’t” Chavez said.

Chavez believed Alvarez needed to focus less on pulling the ball and swinging for the fences and focus more on hitting consistently and using all sides of the field. Now all that sounds like decent advice, but when you see that Alvarez is at his best when he is swinging for the fence and pulling the ball, you then see where some of the Alvarez struggles came from. So far this season, Alvarez has a 45 percent pulled ball rate, and the results are not shocking to believe.

With the way Alvarez is playing and the way the Mets are struggling to win games, it might be time for Manager Carlos Mendoza to move Alvarez up in the lineup. Alvarez has been used mostly in the 7th and 8th spots. In Saturday’s game against the A’s, Alvarez was moved up to the 6 spot. In that game, Alvarez went 2-4 with a 109 mph home run to center field. If Alvarez continues to hit the way he is right now, the cleanup spot might be calling his name.

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There are many reasons why the former #1 overall prospect in baseball has yet to fully break out. Whether it was hand injuries, bad slump, bad advice or the quality play of Luis Torrens behind him. Now that Alvarez is back to swinging for the fences and as help as ever, this could be a very scary year for pitching against Francisco Alvarez.

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