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New York Post
14-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Post
Francisco Alvarez doing what Mets asked with ‘phenomenal' minor league stint
Access the Mets beat like never before Join Post Sports+ for exciting subscriber-only features, including real-time texting with Mike Puma about the inside buzz on the Mets. Try it free KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Francisco Alvarez is thriving in a minor league uniform, perhaps leaving open only the question of when he will return to the Mets. The catcher homered for a third time in two games on Sunday for Triple-A Syracuse, where he owns a 1.196 OPS in July. It has also been noted by Mets officials that pitching prospect Brandon Sproat's consecutive superb starts occurred with Alvarez behind the plate. Alvarez was optioned by the Mets to Syracuse on June 22 to work on all aspects of his game. 3 Francisco Alvarez hits a home run with Triple-A Syracuse on July 13, 2025. X / @SyracuseMets 3 Francisco Alvarez hits a home run with Triple-A Syracuse on July 13, 2025. X / @SyracuseMets 'It's the work ethic, since Day 1 — how positive he has been,' manager Carlos Mendoza said before the Mets lost 3-2 to the Royals. 'Everything has been phenomenal. He is doing everything we are asking him to do, and he continues to put himself in a position where like, 'Hey, you know I am here.' ' Asked if Alvarez was a candidate for recall immediately after the All-Star break, Mendoza said he would be discussing the topic with president of baseball operations David Stearns. 3 Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez. Kylie Richelle 'The good thing is [Alvarez] is doing a lot of the things we are asking him to do,' Mendoza said. 'He's watching the film and driving the ball to all fields and defensively there's been a lot of improvement as well, whether it's receiving, the blocking, we know the throwing has been there. A lot of good things are happening.' José Buttó, who was placed on the injured list (retroactive to July 1) with an illness, is scheduled to pitch in a minor league rehab game on Tuesday for Single-A St. Lucie, according to Mendoza. The right-hander will be evaluated afterward for a possible return to the Mets. CHECK OUT THE LATEST MLB STANDINGS AND METS STATS Max Kranick was examined Thursday and is deciding his next step — Tommy John surgery is a possibility, according to Mendoza. Kranick was placed on the IL last month with a right elbow strain. Mendoza is waiting until later in the week before announcing his starting pitching alignment coming out of the All-Star break. Among the considerations for Friday's game against the Reds are if David Peterson is used in the All-Star game and how Sean Manaea feels following his 65-pitch appearance on Sunday in his season debut.
New York Times
11-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Mets prospect Brandon Sproat back on track with 18-inning scoreless streak
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — With his season spiraling and his prospect stock plummeting, New York Mets minor-league pitcher Brandon Sproat formed a realization as he sat in a dugout. He needed to start throwing all of his pitches as hard as possible. A couple of weeks ago, while watching a Triple-A Syracuse game in Rochester that he wasn't pitching in, Sproat said he thought to himself, 'It can't get any worse. It can only help, if anything.' Advertisement Help? The shift in mindset marked a turning point. It's saving his season. He hasn't allowed a run since. 'It's really good to feel that feeling again,' Sproat said in an interview earlier this week. Have a day, Brandon!!! 7 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 4 K87 pitches, 62 strikes That's now 18 consecutive scoreless innings for Brandon Sproat in his last three starts! — Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) July 11, 2025 Sproat brought an unsightly 5.95 ERA with him to Rochester. On June 28, upon deciding, in his words, 'to let it eat,' he threw six scoreless innings with six strikeouts, allowing two hits and three walks. It was his best start of the season. Until six days later, when he looked more dominant, tossing five scoreless innings with eight strikeouts, surrendering just two hits and one walk. Then Thursday happened. Sproat set a new standard for himself, this time going seven scoreless innings with four strikeouts, giving up only three hits and one walk. Behind his streak of 18 consecutive shutout innings, Sproat has shaved his ERA to 4.61. In his start on June 28 against Rochester, Sproat's four-seam fastball averaged 97.9 mph. In his prior start, on June 22, his fastball sat at 95.3 mph. It wasn't just the fastball. All of Sproat's pitches increased in velocity. For example, his curveball went from 79.3 mph to 81.2 mph. He also threw his curveball more frequently, particularly with two strikes. His curveball usage went from 14 percent on June 22 to 26 percent on June 28. 'The thought of results went out the window,' Sproat said. 'My only focus was throwing every pitch with conviction and as hard as I can every single time — that was my only thought.' Those trends have continued. On Thursday, Sproat's four-seamer averaged 96.4 mph and he used his curveball 22 percent of the time. Aside from the data, Mets officials like how Sproat is aggressively filling the strike zone. Advertisement 'The results were good, but I wasn't so worried about the results,' Sproat said regarding his turnaround start on June 28. 'I was just super happy with how much the mentality-side changed before, during and after the outing. That's what I was pleased with.' Sproat, 24, entered the season as the Mets' No. 1 prospect on The Athletic's Keith Law's top-20 list. Law wasn't alone. MLB Pipeline, among others, labeled Sproat as the Mets' best, too. And why wouldn't they? In 2024, he soared through the Mets' system with a 2.05 ERA and 110 Ks with 31 walks in 87 2/3 innings at the time of his promotion to Syracuse. Though he struggled upon arrival to Triple A in 2024, he turned heads with an impressive big-league spring training (his first) to start 2025. But from there, things went downhill. When prospect publications, such as Pipeline, updated their lists mid-season, Sproat slipped out of the top spot, with other Mets hurlers such as Nolan McLean and Jonah Tong leapfrogging him. It made sense. By late June, Sproat had completed more than five innings in a start just three times. Too often, he said, he pitched in a defensive mode, and wondered to himself after early-inning struggles, 'Oh, is this going to be another bad outing?'' Usually, that's indeed how things turned out. 'It was a little bit of a lack of confidence,' Sproat said. 'Rough outing after rough outing, of course you're going to lose a little confidence behind pitches. That led to trying to make perfect pitches. The velo may have been the same, but it definitely wasn't playing the same. There wouldn't be much life behind it.' That has all changed. Sproat's realization in Rochester occurred to him after thinking back on what had worked for him. He experienced a similar breakthrough as a junior at the University of Florida. After struggling his first two seasons at the school, he decided to just trust his stuff more, he said. It paid off. The Mets chose him in the third round in 2022 and then, after he didn't sign, they picked him again in 2023 in the second round. After the thought came to him in the dugout, he discussed the idea with his mental strength coach, Syracuse pitching coach A.J. Sager and the Mets front office. Everyone was on board, he said. Advertisement The timing of Sproat's breakthrough coincides with the Mets' rotation getting healthier. Though he is not on the 40-man roster, perhaps if he had pitched better earlier in the season, Sproat would've been more heavily considered for a run while New York missed, among others, starters Kodai Senga and Sean Manaea (both are expected to come off the injured list in Kansas City this weekend). He said that is not something he can dwell on. He needs to focus on maintaining the success from here. 'Obviously, there's been struggles earlier this year, and that sucks, but that's the game,' Sproat said. 'There are parts of the season where you're going to go through some learning and growing, and that was one of them. But to be able to get back to throwing every pitch that I can as hard as I can and not worrying about the outcome of it is who I am as a pitcher.' (Photo of Brandon Sproat from spring training: Jim Rassol / Imagn Images)
New York Times
08-07-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Francisco Alvarez blocks out frustration, commits to new path: ‘Baseball never stops'
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Sitting in the Syracuse Mets' dugout before a game late Tuesday afternoon, Francisco Alvarez extended his arms and leaned them against the bench, making his frame appear almost as wide as his smile. He still has that huge grin, even when the topic of conversation turns to his level of confidence after a demotion to Triple A. Advertisement Alvarez's conviction took a hit, but the guy with a throat tattoo that reads 'The Best' still believes in himself. 'My confidence is not low right now, but I am not going to tell you that it's very high, too,' Alvarez, 23, said. 'My confidence is always there. It's a part of my game, and it's a part of my mindset. So, for me, it is always there, but it's not 100 percent. But we can say it is at 90 percent right now.' Then Alvarez laughed. He was in good spirits. He had just spent several minutes working on his swing with Syracuse bench coach J.P. Arencibia, socking balls all over the field. That's one of his major tasks: improve at the plate. The other is equally important: improve behind it. Francisco Alvarez with the opposite-field power to put us on top! 💪💪💪 — Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) July 5, 2025 On June 22, the Mets sent Alvarez down to the minors for the first time since spring 2023. In 138 plate appearances this season before the demotion, he slashed just .236/.319/.333 with three home runs. Defensively, his framing ranked in the bottom 9 percent of MLB, according to Baseball Savant. Indeed, there is plenty for Alvarez to work on. He grasps that. During a 15-minute conversation, he kept referring to wanting to improve on both offense and defense. He never questioned or complained about the decision. 'Baseball never stops,' Alvarez said. 'If I stop and think about why I am down here and start to feel angry or sad or frustrated, I'm losing time. And I don't have that much time to lose. I don't have time to think about all of that. I just have to keep working, keep doing my thing, and that's it.' Still, when Mets manager Carlos Mendoza and president of baseball operations David Stearns talked to him in Philadelphia about going down to the minor leagues, Alvarez felt surprised. Advertisement 'In the moment, I was never thinking that was going to happen,' Alvarez said. 'I knew I had to get better and improve on a lot of things. But I didn't know that was going to happen. So it was a very tough experience in that moment. 'I was feeling bad because I thought I was doing bad. My framing wasn't there, my hitting wasn't there. But it was not my expectation that they would send me down. But that's what happened. 'And I feel that maybe that is what can be the best for me. Right now, I feel like it has helped. It has helped my mind. It has helped my ability to play baseball. To come here every day and practice, I think, is very good.' Alvarez earns strong reviews from Syracuse coaches and teammates. 'He's a smart guy who knows the game and gets you going if you need that extra kick in the butt,' Mets pitching prospect Brandon Sproat said. 'He's been great.' Mets reliever Brooks Raley, who joined Syracuse last week as the next part of his rehab assignment, said Alvarez gave him a huge hug upon seeing him 'with a big smile on his face.' Raley added, 'All I've seen him do is work his tail off.' Arencibia, who is among the coaches and coordinators working with Alvarez on both catching and hitting, offered a similar take. 'Honestly, he's been unbelievable,' Arencibia said. 'He comes in, he wants to see video, he wants to go over stuff. He's much more open. Sometimes, going to Triple A, people may think it's a wake-up call. (But) I think sometimes it's more of an opportunity to take a breath.' As a 21-year-old rookie in 2023, Alvarez hit 25 home runs. The power might still be there. He hasn't displayed much of any since then, though. After Alvarez struggled last season, he decided to overhaul his swing in the winter. He wanted to cover more of the plate and use the entire field. A hamate fracture in spring training derailed Alvarez's opportunity to work through those changes at a time when the games didn't mean anything. Some of the changes Alvarez made were good while others needed to be re-evaluated, Mets hitting coach Jeremy Barnes said. Advertisement 'He's been up here and he's had some success. In '23, he hit more than 20 homers,' Barnes said. 'So we are trying to pay attention to that and find the happy middle.' While in Triple A, Alvarez said that he has tried to blend his old swing from a couple of years ago with what he learned over the winter. In 10 games (38 plate appearances) with Syracuse heading into Tuesday, he is 8-for-34 (.235 batting average) with four home runs. 'I feel strong,' Alvarez said, 'and feel like I could do damage.' To Arencibia, Alvarez's swing and setup resemble the player who showcased power as a rookie. Along with the home runs that season, Alvarez hit just .209 with a .284 on-base percentage — poor figures. From Arencibia's perspective, though, Alvarez could've just built slowly on the foundation he already had. He still can. 'This guy's God-given ability is to hit the ball as hard as anybody,' Arencibia said. 'If you look at (Alvarez's) '23, I'd give my dang right arm for that. You grow from what that was. I think he went a different way. I think by trying to be this guy, he wasn't … it's like any of us, we are the best version of ourselves when we are fully authentic. That's what he's getting back to.' Recently, Alvarez joked around with Arencibia, telling him, 'I'm trying to find that Alvy of '22, '23.' Arencibia told him, 'You're the same guy. We just gotta do some things to get you back there.' Alvarez's defense is a similar story. His metrics for framing are bad, but they used to be superb. He ranked in the top 12 percent for framing just last year, according to Baseball Savant. Alvarez said he is trying to get in a better position behind the plate. That means having a stronger base. Alvarez still has one knee down, but he is now keeping his toe planted in the ground. That boosts his balance and helps him create force, Arencibia said. Advertisement 'Everything comes from the position of feeling strong,' Alvarez said. 'Right now, I feel like everything has gotten better.' Alvarez has a point. In the 10 days Alvarez has spent in Triple A, his framing ranks in the 100th percentile, which means he is top of the class. 'Receiving wise, Alvy is a Ferrari,' Arencibia said. 'Ferrari is still a Ferrari, but if the tires are flat, it's not going to drive as good. But you fill up the tires, and it drives good again. His tires were a little flat when it came to his positioning. Once he got that feeling again, which was a simple adjustment, I knew a Ferrari would drive like a Ferrari again. He didn't lose his hands; his hands are lightning-fast.' Multiple times, Alvarez expressed gratitude for his time in Triple A. Mets officials say they still believe in him. They like the progress he has made. Still, it's unknown when Alvarez may return to the majors. Though he obviously wants to rejoin the Mets, he said he isn't stressing out over the timing. In addition to the tattoo on his throat, there's another one near his right ear that gets less attention. He got them both around the same time, a couple of years ago. It seems appropriate for his current situation and how he is navigating it. The tattoo reads, 'Grateful.' 'My goal right now is to be a better player — a better catcher, a better hitter,' Alvarez said. 'Whenever I go back up there, I am just going to compete every day.' (Photo of Francisco Alvarez: Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
Yahoo
14-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Mets drops their sixth-straight game
Moosic, P.A. (WSYR) — The Syracuse Mets continue to struggle on the road. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre jumped out to big lead early and the Mets never really threatened in losing their sixth consecutive game, 10-3. The RailRiders scored one run in the first and seven more in the second to open up an 8-0 lead after two innings. Syracuse got on the board in the fourth inning when Gilberto Celestino scored on a wild pitch to make it 8-1. the Mets got as close as 8-3 before the home team tacked on a couple of more insurance runs for the final margin. Syracuse continues its six-game series with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Saturday with game five. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Syracuse Mets offering $5 off tickets for Sunday's game against Rochester
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) — After a rainy and gloomy start to the weekend, tomorrow will be a better day to catch a baseball game. The Syracuse Mets are offering $5 off tickets to their Memorial Day Sunday game against the Rochester Red Wings. The sale is currently underway and will end tomorrow at 6 p.m. First pitch is at 6:35. Tomorrow is also Kids Eat Free Family Sunday so kids 12 and under will get a voucher for a bag of chips, a drink, hot dog and an ice cream. The whole family can also enjoy free balloon art and entertainment from Jeff the Magic Man before the game. Click here to buy tickets. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
