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The New York Mets fanbase wants one thing and one thing alone: Francisco Alvarez. The hotshot prospect made his MLB debut last year, and since then, fans want the youngster to see the field. Bolstering his case to start consistently is New York's catching problem: Tomas Nido is currently in the midst of a bad slump. However, Mets manager Buck Showalter offered an explanation as to why Francisco Alvarez is riding the pine after being called up, per SNYMets.
Mets manager Buck Showalter: “It's kind of like a backup quarterback that gets drafted out of college. Everybody knows he's (Francisco Alvarez) going to be a really good player, but the time he spends as a backup is very valuable too.”
"It's kind of like a backup quarterback that gets drafted out of college. Everybody knows he's going to be a really good player, but the time he spends as a backup is very valuable too."
– Buck Showalter on Francisco Álvarez's development pic.twitter.com/snaE08qnQk
— SNY (@SNYtv) April 7, 2023
Regardless of sport, the transition from college to pros is a difficult one. Last season, Alvarez made spot starts for the Mets as the season was dying down. The results were less than ideal: Alvarez recorded 3 hits (one of which was a home run), walked twice, and struck out four times in twelve at-bats. It's not exactly a terrible start, but it's not what they also wanted.
The argument for Francisco Alvarez is Tomas Nido's awful start this year. Nido is hitless through six games and nine plate appearances, striking out five times with no walks. This could be the perfect chance for the Mets to see if Alvarez can provide something better for the team than Nido.
Then again, hitting in the MLB is ridiculously hard. There's also the fact that catcher is perhaps the hardest position to play in the league, especially with the larger base pads now. Either way, Alvarez will get his chance to start meaningful games for the Mets this year. It might just take a little too long for the fans' liking, though.
