The Atlanta Braves may have got an absolute steal in Ignacio Alvarez. The fifth-round pick in the 2022 MLB Draft earned high praise from MLB insiders Jim Callis, Jonathan Mayo and Sam Dykstra in their rankings of the top hitting prospect for each team.
“The Braves may have found themselves a Draft steal in Alvarez, who they took in the fifth round of last year’s Draft. The Riverside Community College product hit .370 in his Draft year, then showed off his super-advanced approach at the plate with a 26/15 BB/K ratio during his pro debut split between the Florida Complex and Single-A Carolina Leagues,” the insiders wrote.
The Atlanta Braves were unable to replicate another World Series championship appearance in 2022, bowing out to the Philadelphia Phillies in the National League Division Series in four games. The Phillies went on to lose to the Houston Astros in the MLB's marquee series in six games.
The 6-foot, 190-pound Ignacio Alvarez spent the last year in the minors, and there is a lot of hype for the young prospect across Atlanta:
“Ignacio ‘Nacho' Alvarez wasn’t even on the radar in the preseason. He was quietly entering his first year at a California junior college and not considered to be a prominent draft prospect at that time,” wrote Matt Powers of Battery Power in November.
“A strong showing with the bat, and especially the glove, followed by a good showing in a college summer league All-Star game really brought his stock up by the time the draft rolled around, and the Braves nabbed him in the fifth round.”
Ignacio Alvarez will likely make his Atlanta Braves debut in 2024, with the 19-year-old primed for another year of development in 2023.
“He has really quick hands at the plate and makes a ton of contact, with more extra-base thump to come,” Callis, Mayo and Dykstra concluded.
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