Reviewing the first round of September promotions announced after the
Mets game on August 31, 2014.
To the New York Mets:
LH RP Dario Alvarez
Savannah – 1.32 ERA, 20 G, 6 GS, 61.1 IP, 43 H, 2 HR, 95 SO:
14 BB
St. Lucie – 0.00 ERA, 4 G, 6.1 IP, H, 10 SO: 3 BB
Binghamton – 0.00 ERA, 5 G, 5.2 IP, 4 H, 9 SO: 0 BB
Totals: 1.10 ERA, 29 G, 6 GS, 73.1 IP, 48 H, 114 SO: 17 BB
(40.1 K%: 6.0 BB%), .483 OPS allowed
I’ve
heard both positive
and negative reports on Alvarez, but I’ve been impressed watching him a few
times on MiLB.tv this season. He was overmatching hitters in the SAL with
Savannah, and then continued to dominate against tougher competition in his
small sample sizes with St. Lucie and Binghamton. Alvarez throws low 90’s heat,
a mid-80’s change-up and a slider in the high 70’s, which is his best pitch in
my opinion. If the slider is real, he can pair it with the good control on his
fastball to be a very strong LOOGY. If the change-up works against righties,
he’s more than that. He started some when injuries swept through the Savannah
rotation, but I don’t expect him to be more than a reliever anytime soon. It
appears that Dario was slated to be a minor league free agent, so this affords
the Mets a chance to see if his stuff translates to the majors. It’s unclear
how Terry will use him, but, if nothing else, he should get plenty of
opportunities as a LOOGY. That said, he was strong against both lefties and
righties this year: 37 K%: 6.6 BB%, .490 OPS vs. righties and 45.6 K%: 4.9 BB%
.472 OPS vs. lefties.
From his 10-strikeout performance with Savannah
on June 24, 2014
