The Atlanta Braves have suffered their share of costly injuries this year, including of the season-ending variety to staff ace Spencer Strider and reigning National League MVP Ronald Acuña Jr. Over the weekend, the Braves saw another key player go down, as second baseman Ozzie Albies is expected to miss about two months with a fractured forearm. (Lefty Max Fried was also placed on the injured list with arm trouble.)
In response, the Braves have promoted infield prospect Nacho Alvarez Jr. to the majors for his big-league debut.
Alvarez, 21, has notably never played second base as a professional. The Braves are confident that he'll be a quick learner, or, at least, that his offense will atone for whatever growing pains he experiences at the position. In 28 games at the Triple-A level, he hit .336/.432/.575 with seven home runs and five stolen bases in 132 trips to the plate.
If you're new to Alvarez, he's not exactly a new sensation. Over the winter, I ranked him as the second-best prospect in the Braves system. Here's what I wrote about him at the time:
The Braves have made a habit out of finding contributors later in the draft. Alvarez, himself a fifth-round pick in 2022 out of a California JuCo, looks like he could soon join the group. He hit .284/.395/.391 at High-A last season despite being two years younger than his average opponent. Alvarez has more raw power than his slugging percentage indicates, though he'll need to lift the ball more frequently to fully tap into it. While he played almost exclusively at shortstop, we suspect that he'll end up elsewhere on the infield before he reaches the majors. The upside here is an above-average hitter with a good glove at either second or third base.
You might be wondering what else you should know about Alvarez heading into his MLB debut. Below, we've highlighted three things worth keeping in mind.
1. JuCo scouting find
The Braves have indeed made a science out of unearthing gems outside of the first night of the draft. Credit that to former scouting director Dana Brown (now the Astros general manager) and his successor Ronit Shah, who can count Spencer Strider and Michael Harris II among their most notable wins. Alvarez has a chance to be another one.
The Braves chose Alvarez with the 155th pick in the fifth round of the 2022 draft by way of Riverside City College (that's located in California, for anyone wondering). Although RCC has a history of sending players to the professional ranks, Alvarez was the highest Tiger player selected in more than two decades.
Fittingly, the Braves happen to employ the most productive big-leaguer to ever come from RCC: veteran right-hander Jesse Chavez. Chavez is one of three RCC products to record more than 2 career Wins Above Replacement: the others being lefty Gary Lucas and late right-hander Tommy Hanson, who, of course, began his career with the Braves.
We'll see if Alvarez can place his name alongside those gentlemen over the coming years.
2. Legit prospect
As noted above, I had Alvarez as the No. 2 prospect entering the season. He's provided no reason for me to change my evaluation. In 76 games split between Double- and Triple-A, he hit .293/.401/.417 with seven home runs (tying his career-high) and 21 stolen bases.
Alvarez connected on nearly 83% of his swings in Triple-A, all the while showing a firm command of the strike zone. He should walk plenty, and he ought to be able to more than keep his strikeouts in check. Despite him launching seven home runs in his last 28 games, it's fair to have some reservations about his slugging capacity. To wit, prior to that 28-game stretch, he had opened the season without homering in any of his first 48 games.
Alvarez's average exit velocity in Triple-A was unimpressive, though his 90th percentile average exit velocity (around 101 mph) would put him in company with the likes of Isaac Paredes, Marcus Semien, and Jose Altuve. The catch is that he doesn't pull the ball in the air as often as those three do, suggesting he probably won't match their home-run totals barring a change in that respect. Still, there is some pull-side power here.
Overall, Alvarez will sink or swim based on his feel for contact and the zone, and potentially his glove at second base.
3. Not only addition to roster
Alvarez is expected to get the first shot at taking the keystone as his own, but the Braves were quick to add an insurance policy on Monday in the person of Whit Merrifield.
Merrifield, 35, is a three-time All-Star who was recently released by the Phillies after hitting .199/.277/.295 (63 OPS+) in 53 games. Merrifield did make the All-Star Game last year, posting a 93 OPS+ as a member of the Blue Jays. The Braves can only hope that he regains that form if he's called upon to take over at second base over the next two months.
