The new crop of Baby Mets are making the impact the last one couldn't
Carson Benge and A.J. Ewing combined to bring home the game-winning run for the Mets in their series win over the Tigers. Plus, the continuing disappointment of Francisco Álvarez's career.
What’s Up with the Mets? ⚾️
The Mets defeated the Tigers by a 3-2 score in 10 innings on Wednesday night (box)
RF Carson Benge went 3-for-5 with a stolen base and collected the first walk-off hit of his major league career in the victory
RHP Christian Scott allowed two runs with five strikeouts, but was once again unable to complete five innings in a no-decision
DH Juan Soto exited the game in the 7th inning after fouling a ball off of his ankle earlier in the game, though x-rays came back negative
CF A.J. Ewing went 0-for-3 with three strikeouts, a walk and a run scored in his second career game
New York’s bullpen combined to pitched 5.1 scoreless innings thanks to the combined efforts of Huascar Brazobán, Luke Weaver, Devin Williams and Brooks Raley
The Mets have now won three of their last four series and are 7-4 in the month of May
Roster Moves 📰
C Hayden Senger recalled from Triple-A Syracuse
C Francisco Álvarez placed on the 10-day injured list
Injury Updates 🏥
C Francisco Álvarez is expected to miss 6-8 weeks due to a right meniscus tear
DH Juan Soto is day-to-day after fouling a ball off of his ankle during Wednesday night’s victory over the Tigers
Play of the Game 🌟
When you win via a walk-off knock, what else would you expect here?
Carson Benge continued his hot stretch of play on Wednesday night, delivering a walk-off single on this ground ball up the middle to win the game for New York. For Benge, it was his third hit of the night and the first walk-off hit of his big league career.
After a trying start to his rookie campaign, Benge is now hitting .333/.400/.500 with a home run, three doubles, seven RBI, a stolen base, seven runs scored and a .900 OPS in the month of May.
Just Mets Podcast 🎙️
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Down on the Farm 🌾
CF Jose Ramos (Double-A): 1-for-4, HR (5), 3 RBI
SS Mitch Voit (No. 6 prospect, Single-A): 1-for-3, HR (4)
BOX SCORES
Triple-A | Double-A | Single-A | High-A (Gm 1 | Gm 2)
Today’s Game 🗓
Match-up: Mets (17-25) vs. Tigers (19-24)
Where: Citi Field — Flushing, NY
Starters: RHP Nolan McLean (1-2, 2.78 ERA) vs. RHP Keider Montero (2-2, 3.18 ERA)
When: 1:10 PM EDT
Where to Watch: SNY
The failed promise of Francisco Álvarez ✍️
It wasn’t long ago when Francisco Álvarez was ranked by many outlets as not only the Mets’ top prospect, but the number one prospect in all of baseball.
Making his big league debut at the age of 20 – the youngest player to appear in the majors during the 2022 season – the catcher known for his big-time power had a lot of expectations hoisted onto his shoulders from the get-go.
In the midst of a late-season choke that ultimately cost the Mets the National League East title, New York chose to call up their top prospect before he was even legally permitted to purchase a drink in a desperate attempt to jumpstart their offense over the final six games of the regular season.
Since making his debut, expectations have always been high for the Mets’ young backstop. And early on, it looked as if the powerful right-handed catcher was prepared to meet, if not exceed, those expectations thanks to a rookie campaign that saw Álvarez club 25 home runs, finishing one shy of Johnny Bench’s all-time record for rookie catchers.
Since that full rookie campaign, however, Álvarez has never come close to fulfilling the lofty expectations set upon him.
After his 25-homer rookie year, Álvarez has clubbed just 26 total home runs in the two-and-a-half seasons since, hitting .245/.321/.417 since with a 109 OPS plus. For most catchers, that would be seen as a win, but for a player who was viewed to be a franchise-changing bat, it’s been hard for anyone to see it as anything other than a disappointment.
What has clouded Álvarez’s career even more than his overall performance, though, has been his inability to stay on the field. After tearing his meniscus on a swing during Tuesday night’s game against the Tigers, Álvarez landed on the injured list for what is expected to be at least six-to-eight weeks as he will undergo surgery. It is the third straight season that the Mets catcher is expected to miss significant time due to injury.
While you can’t blame Álvarez entirely for catching the injury bug, he has now injured himself swinging the bat, rounding first base, and sliding into second base over these last few seasons.
Ultimately, Álvarez has proven both by his inability to stay healthy and by his performance on the field when he is that he is not a player that this organization can necessarily rely upon. Though his offensive stats still are amongst the highest for his position group in an era where offensive catchers are increasingly hard to come by, it is becoming more clear year after year that this is not a player that the Mets can count on to be an impact player for them.
While Álvarez may still be better than a young average catcher on offense, his extreme streakiness at the plate and inability to stay healthy – even at the still young age of 24 – makes you wonder at this point if he will ever be capable of giving this team anything more than that.
And though it doesn’t mean that the organization should necessarily give up on him at this point in his career, it does mean that he can no longer be counted upon as a difference maker for this club, let alone a player that can make it through a full season without getting injured.
This doesn’t even begin to mention Álvarez’s issues behind the plate, as his -4 DRS for his career is very unlikely to improve as he ages.
As the Mets prepare to be without him yet again for the next two months, it is yet another reminder of the disappointment that Álvarez has been considering what was expected of him as he rose up the ranks of the farm system. And, when you pair him alongside the likes of Brett Baty, Mark Vientos, Ronny Mauricio, and the now-traded Luisangel Acuña, it shows how little this franchise has gotten out of their last homegrown crop of players that was once expected to be the next wave of talent for this team.
Around the League 🚩
Blue Jays CF Daulton Varsho crushed a walk-off grand slam to knock-off the Rays by a 5-3 score
Yankees LHP Max Fried exited with an injury as New York dropped their series finale to the Orioles, 7-0
The Braves became the first team in baseball to reach 30 wins this season, defeating the Cubs by a 4-1 score
Rangers 1B Jake Burger capped a three-run, 9th inning comeback victory for Texas with a walk-off hit to beat the Dbacks, 6-5
I feel for Alvarez...but you nailed it. Not much for Catchers on the top prospect list either, unfortunately.
Alvarez is beginning to remind me of another top catching prospect who never realized his full potential with the Mets, because of constant injuries. His name was Travis d'Arnaud.