The Mets made two significant investments in the summer of 2018.
The first was to arrange Jarred Kelenic in the first round of that year’s amateur draft in June and then sign it with a $ 4.5 million deal.
The next came in July, when they spent $ 2.7 million to sign the capture of Francisco Alvarez as an international free agent from Venezuela.
The international bonus is the highest given by the Mets, exceeding the $ 2.1 million shortstop that Ronny Mauricio received in 2017.
Mauricio is now considered the top prospect of the Mets.
Kelenic, however, was at the core of a deal with Seattle that brought Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz to Queens before the 2019 season. While Cano and Diaz performed poorly in their first season with the Mets, Kelenic was impressed at three levels in the Mariners farming system, ending the year in Double -A.
Alvarez, 18, is more than two years younger than Kelenic and hasn’t played a full professional season, but has given the Mets reason to believe they might have other top-level prospects.
Francisco AlvarezThe AP
They certainly can use one – or more – mainly from international markets. And Alvarez has shown considerable promise for an organization that lacks talent in that position.
They are still looking for the next Jose Reyes – their last international player to become an All-Star with the Mets.
The jury is still out on Amed Rosario, who signed for $ 1.75 million in 2012, and Mauricio, who spent last season with Columbia’s Class-A.
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In his first season in pro football, Alvarez quickly moved from the Gulf Coast League to Kingsport Class A and showed promise. In 35 matches in the Appalachian League, Alvarez – who was only 17 at the time – had an OPS .820 of more than 131 appearances.
And although he is not the natural person behind the plate, an NL talent guide who sees him playing at Kingsport calls him “can be used to survive.”
“For a child with his body, you look to see if he can move,” said scouts from Alvarez, registered at 5-foot-11 and 220 pounds. “He seems to have good instincts there and have agility, but he is far from the finished product.”
The most prominent thing about Alvarez is his violation.
“That is the reason he is his prospect,” said the scout. “He is strong and fast with a bat.”
With the sport still closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Alvarez is just one of many who will lose developmental time – even though spies say he has advanced for his age.
But that still makes Alvarez likely at least three years of realistic opportunities to help majors.
At that time, maybe the Mets will solve their arrest problem.
J.T. Realmuto, trading target general manager Brodie Van Wagenen before last season, will become a free agent after this season and the Mets have a contract for bookkeeping – but it is unclear what the financial landscape will be like when the sport continues.
However, as Mike Puma reported from The Post recently, the search for the Mets to capture has continued since the departure of Mike Piazza after the 2005 season.
It’s possible they could target college catchers in a brief amateur design next month, but they will not hesitate watching Alvarez to see if he can fulfill his potential.
