BA GRADE
45
Risk: High
Born: Oct. 15, 1994. B-T: R-R. Ht.: 5-11. Wt.: 175. Signed: Dominican Republic, 2011. Signed by: Rene Rojas/Juan Mercado (Cardinals).
Alvarez broke through with a big year at the plate for the Cardinals in 2016 in the low Class A Midwest League, so he skipped a level and went straight to the Double-A Texas League in 2017. He struggled with the jump, and a high ankle sprain in mid-May kept him out for two months. After the Phillies claimed reliever Juan Nicasio on waivers from the Pirates on Aug. 31, they turned around a week later and flipped him to the Cardinals to get Alvarez.
While Alvarez’s stock dropped in 2017, there’s still promise he can return to his 2016 form. His strikeout rate jumped from 19 percent in 2016 to 27 percent in 2017, but he has an otherwise strong track record and a simple, balanced swing with an all-fields approach. Alvarez’s swing isn’t geared for power, so he projects to hit 8-12 home runs. Alvarez is an above-average runner, but his stolen bases were down in 2017 coming back from the ankle injury. Alvarez has a good arm but his hands and footwork need to improve for him to be better than a below-average defender.
Alvarez could make his Phillies system debut at Double-A Reading in 2018.
Year |
Club (League) |
Class |
AVG |
G |
AB |
R |
H |
2015 |
Johnson City (APP) |
R |
.314 |
52 |
204 |
32 |
64 |
2016 |
Peoria (MWL) |
LoA |
.323 |
116 |
433 |
70 |
140 |
2017 |
Cardinals (GCL) |
R |
.250 |
7 |
24 |
4 |
6 |
|
Springfield (TL) |
AA |
.247 |
54 |
186 |
29 |
46 |
Minor League Totals |
.285 |
323 |
1158 |
191 |
330 |
||
Year |
Club (League) |
2B |
3B |
HR |
RBI |
BB |
2015 |
Johnson City (APP) |
20 |
1 |
2 |
31 |
11 |
2016 |
Peoria (MWL) |
36 |
6 |
6 |
59 |
53 |
2017 |
Cardinals (GCL) |
2 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
|
Springfield (TL) |
11 |
1 |
4 |
26 |
16 |
Minor League Totals |
82 |
18 |
17 |
155 |
119 |
|
Year |
Club (League) |
SO |
SB |
CS |
OBP |
SLG |
2015 |
Johnson City (APP) |
32 |
9 |
4 |
.353 |
.451 |
2016 |
Peoria (MWL) |
96 |
36 |
15 |
.404 |
.476 |
2017 |
Cardinals (GCL) |
3 |
1 |
0 |
.296 |
.458 |
|
Springfield (TL) |
56 |
8 |
3 |
.321 |
.382 |
Minor League Totals |
243 |
73 |
32 |
.360 |
.431 |
|