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Mets Catcher Completely Trashed This Bold Preseason Prediction
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- Mets Catcher Completely Trashed This Bold Preseason Prediction
The New York Mets messed up a lot of pretty good preseason predictions this year, and some of the bolder ones got completely trashed.
That was definitely the case with Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez, who was supposed to be able to hit 30 home runs, make the All-Star team and be the best offensive catcher in the NL, per a bold prediction from David Schoenfield of ESPN.
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Fat chance. Alvarez was badly exposed this season as a very poor player when it comes to his offensive approach, and the result was a slash line of .233/.307/.421 to go with 16 home runs and 43 RBIs, not to mention 129 strikeouts in 373 at-bats.
Don't blame Schoenfield completely, though. Alvarez brings tantalizing power to the plate, but he's one of the best hitters in baseball when it comes to chasing, swinging at high fastballs and getting himself out. To be fair, Alvarez did get hurt again, as he suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee and he came back very quickly, but his stats from mid-August on were especially disappointing, as he hit just .188 with three home runs in his final 32 games.
For the Mets, it's decision time with Alvarez. They drafted him thinking he could be a star, and now he's the opposite of that. Almost every aspect of his game declined this year, including his defense, and he was one of the worst catchers in baseball with the timing and results of his ABS challenges.
The Mets' other catcher is Luis Torrens, who's a smart player who's strong defensively, but Torrens is limited at the plate, as he doesn't have nearly as much talent as Alvarez.
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Alvarez has been turning up on all kinds of lists as a trade candidate, but at this point the Mets would be selling low on a 24-year old player who seemed to have unlimited power potential a couple of years ago. That was the basis for Schoenfield's bold prediction, but Alvarez continues to make writers and experts look foolish when they attempt this sort of thing.
The current rumors have the Mets going big on pitching, possibly in the free agent market next week, which makes it even less clear where that leaves Alvarez. The Mets have swapped out their hitting coaches again, and the catcher is one of the most important players they'll be trying to turn around. At this point, though, the problem might just be Alvarez himself.
