When Max Scherzer was asked about Mets top prospect and catcher Francisco Alvarez — who is ripping it up for the club’s Double-A affiliate in Binghamton — last week following his first rehab start for the Rumble Ponies, the three-time Cy Young Award winner couldn’t tell you much other than what was already obvious.
“He seems to have a big bat,” Scherzer said last week. “Excited to see what he can do but I’m sure there’s a lot of things — when you’re young — there’s a lot of things that you have to do in front of you.
“It looks like he can really hit the ball but I haven’t been able to see or throw to him or know what the rest of his game is like.”
Scherzer will get to find out on Tuesday when he makes a second rehab start in Binghamton while working his way back from a strained left oblique that required just a bit more time to get fully ready.
Alvarez is expected to be the starting catcher for Scherzer after James McCann — who was rehabbing from wrist surgery — made his way back to the Mets last week after a short stint in Binghamton as well.
It allows the 20-year-old to get his first real taste of top-tier major-league pitching, which is something he could be experiencing regularly sooner rather than later. That makes Tuesday’s game one of high intrigue for each member of Binghamton’s battery.
If Alvarez can sync up well with Scherzer and call a decent game, thus laying the foundation for a future rapport, it will provide a further suggestion that the catcher is ready for a jump to the majors for the 2023 season.
Previous reports suggest that the Mets haven’t ruled out calling Alvarez up this season, but that would be an enormous ask of a young catcher to quickly build a relationship with a rotation that will feature Scherzer, Jacob deGrom, and Chris Bassitt.
But it appears that it’s only his defensive game and the ability to call it that remains the largest question surrounding MLB’s No. 7 ranked prospect considering the offensive show he’s put on this season.
In 62 games with the Rumble Ponies, Alvarez is slashing .280/.365/.564 (.929 OPS) with 17 home runs and 45 RBI. He’s been red-hot in the month of June, posting a .300 batting average, a 1.113 OPS, nine home runs, and 22 RBI in just 18 games.
