His defense was awful last year, as his blocking is about the worst in MLB, and this was pure lack of effort.
We went to 2 spring games last week and he played both. Did see some gains defensively, but he still swings out of his shoes and is pull happy. We saw one solid single the other way and a bunch of swings and misses.
Alfonso commented on his flaws last year, and I hope he listens to him and Torrens.
"We saw what Álvarez was capable of in September as he hit .254 with five home runs to go along with a .899 OPS. A fully healthy Álvarez with a dangerous new swing and approach at the plate could yield elite results at the plate in 2025."
He made the exact adjustments I was looking for last season. He's squared up now, relaxed, starting from a good hitting position with none of the extraneous silliness he had allowed to creep into his stance.
The power will be there automatically. He needs to focus on driving the ball into the gap in right-center. Everything else will flow on its own.
After that, it's a matter of plate discipline, which is the real question now. He needs to be selective, stay within himself and not swing out of his shoes, and just let it go. Do that, and he indeed might have a monster year.
"... a truly monster season from Francisco Álvarez will be required." Huh? I think we should be happy if he can manage to hit .250 with 25 homers and improve his poor OBA. He's never had anything remotely resembling a monster season. "Incredibly young"? Let's not go overboard. He's 23 as are quite a few ballplayers. A quick search found this: "As of October 2024, there were multiple MLB players who were 20 or 21 years old, including Jackson Chourio, Jackson Holliday, Jackson Merrill, and Jasson Dominguez".
I'm well aware that this isn't an English usage blog, and I'd love for him to break out but here's the definition of "incredible": "difficult to believe; extraordinary."
Well it is extraordinary, he’s 2 years younger then the next youngest starting catcher in the MLB, that by definition is extraordinary, it’s not ordinary. Was it slightly excessive word choice by the author? Yea a little, but calm down over there.
I am happy for Nido. Alvarez needs a big year.
Very skeptical of Alvy
His defense was awful last year, as his blocking is about the worst in MLB, and this was pure lack of effort.
We went to 2 spring games last week and he played both. Did see some gains defensively, but he still swings out of his shoes and is pull happy. We saw one solid single the other way and a bunch of swings and misses.
Alfonso commented on his flaws last year, and I hope he listens to him and Torrens.
Just not sure he is ready to change
He rated as one of the best pitch framers and handled the staff well, I mean check out winning percentage with him vs without him.
"We saw what Álvarez was capable of in September as he hit .254 with five home runs to go along with a .899 OPS. A fully healthy Álvarez with a dangerous new swing and approach at the plate could yield elite results at the plate in 2025."
He made the exact adjustments I was looking for last season. He's squared up now, relaxed, starting from a good hitting position with none of the extraneous silliness he had allowed to creep into his stance.
The power will be there automatically. He needs to focus on driving the ball into the gap in right-center. Everything else will flow on its own.
After that, it's a matter of plate discipline, which is the real question now. He needs to be selective, stay within himself and not swing out of his shoes, and just let it go. Do that, and he indeed might have a monster year.
"... a truly monster season from Francisco Álvarez will be required." Huh? I think we should be happy if he can manage to hit .250 with 25 homers and improve his poor OBA. He's never had anything remotely resembling a monster season. "Incredibly young"? Let's not go overboard. He's 23 as are quite a few ballplayers. A quick search found this: "As of October 2024, there were multiple MLB players who were 20 or 21 years old, including Jackson Chourio, Jackson Holliday, Jackson Merrill, and Jasson Dominguez".
None of them are catchers, Alvy is very young for a full time starting catcher
I'm well aware that this isn't an English usage blog, and I'd love for him to break out but here's the definition of "incredible": "difficult to believe; extraordinary."
Well it is extraordinary, he’s 2 years younger then the next youngest starting catcher in the MLB, that by definition is extraordinary, it’s not ordinary. Was it slightly excessive word choice by the author? Yea a little, but calm down over there.