PORT STREET LUCIE — The Mets may need a second-year leap from Francisco Alvarez to seriously contend for the postseason this season.
But in the first game of the spring, Alvarez took some time to encourage him that the breakthrough was close.
The talented 22-year-old catcher, in his second at-bat of the Grapefruit League season, hit a two-run homer to the other end off Houston right-hander AJ Bluebaugh in the third inning Sunday.
“It feels good. It feels really good,” Alvarez said after the Mets’ first exhibition win of the season, 3-1 over the Astros at Clover Park.
Alvarez hit 25 home runs, the most by a catcher under the age of 21 since Johnny Bench’s 26 in 1969, during a very impressive rookie campaign, although he was uneven offensively last year. did.
Once the No. 1 prospect in baseball, he brought power, but his batting average was just .209 and his OPS was .721. When it was hot, it was hot (like the sweltering May, when he hit seven home runs and had a 1.029 OPS), and when it was cold, it was frigid (like the wild August, when he had a .456 OPS).
In his first game of the spring, Alvarez immediately looked comfortable.
In the first inning, he hit an infield hit against right-hander Brandon Bielak down the third base line, and in his next and final at-bat, he hit a 354-foot fastball from the top of the zone into the right field seats.
If Alvarez’s bat becomes consistent, his ceiling could be that of a cathedral.
Alvarez declined to set a goal for how many home runs he could hit, saying he was focused on winning and didn’t want to put a cap on his number of at-bats.
Throughout last season, his defense impressed, although he arrived with more questions than his bat. Alvarez is one of the best in the league when it comes to constructing pitches, and he’s hitting base runners out 13 percent of the time, a number he’d like to improve on.
Alvarez said he expected Astros runners to attempt to steal bases during the game, but none attempted to steal bases.
First-year manager Carlos Mendoza enjoyed the swing, but was also pleased with the way Alvarez caught the Mets’ starting pitchers.
“The way I worked with him… [José] Butt was really nice to watch,” Mendoza said.
