Francisco AlvarezPhoto by Rick Nelson
The 2022 Futures MLB game kicks off at 7 p.m. Saturday night at Dodger Stadium. Two Mets are expected in the game, with a phenomenal 20-year-old receiver Francisco Alvarez joined by third baseman Marc Vientos as a reserve.
The Futures Game is an annual showcase of baseball’s top up-and-coming talent. The Mets are certainly no strangers to the event. Fans may recall that last year, then-teen Álvarez hit a home run in his only Futures Game at bat.
Francisco Álvarez, 19, hit a 104 mph home run in his only Futures game at bat.
The Mets’ top prospect has an OPS of 0.974 in 50 games this year between St. Lucie and Brooklyn.
—Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) July 11, 2021
At the time, Álvarez had yet to play over the High-A ball. He has since had a monster season for Double-A Binghamton, hitting .277 with a .922 OPS and 18 home runs in 67 games. That earned him a promotion to Triple-A Syracuse, where he got off to a slow start but showed impressive discipline at the plate. He also earned praise from Max Scherzer and Jacob of Gromwhom he both surprised at the start of rehab.
Three years prior, another Met had delved into the Futures Game whose name may sound familiar: Pete Alonso. In fact, at the time, he was still going through Peter. As noted Michael MayBelow, Alonso set a Statcast record with the angle and speed of the bomb.
Two years ago today, Pete Alonso set a Statcast record with his home run in the Futures Game.
It measured 415 feet, at a launch angle of 46 degrees, and had an exit speed of 113.6 mph. An angle and speed combo never seen before.
—Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) July 15, 2020
Andres Gimenez also represented the Mets at the 2018 Futures Game. This year, Gimenez is an All-Star for the Cleveland Guardians.
Speaking of Gimenez, his Guardian counterpart Amed Rosario represented the Mets in the 2017 game, third at bat and playing shortstop. In 2019, the Mets only sent Anthony Kaywhile Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn participated as members of the Mariners. The Mets of course ended up trading Kay in the deal for Marcus Stroman. Trade coins galore.
In 2013, the Mets had three representatives in Brandon Nimmo, Noah Syndergaard and Raphael Montero. Nimmo, of course, has since become the Mets’ daily lead hitter, while Syndergaard is with the Angels. Montero has never had consistent success in New York, but is having a great season for the Astros.
Gem of Futures 2013 game. pic.twitter.com/5Y4TLkATwU
—Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) July 15, 2022
This year, Álvarez will get another preview of the Futures Game – his second before he was even of legal drinking age. Not only is he the consensus top prospect for the Mets, but he’s become the No. 2 prospect in all of baseball.
Vientos is no slouch either, as MLB lists him as the No. 5 prospect for the Mets. The 22-year-old had a solid season for Triple-A Syracuse despite a slow start to the season, hitting .255/.339/.498 with 16 homers. He posted a .927 OPS for Binghamton last year. At this point, it’s bubbling very close to major league level.
Clearly, many Futures Game participants continue to make a real impact in the major leagues. Others end up as trade pieces for notable players. Fans should tune in Saturday night to get a glimpse of the talent this first-place Mets team will add in the near future.
The game will be streamed on Peacock.
