Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez is one of the most electric and highly thought of prospects in baseball, with most publications having him as a top 10 prospect in baseball.
And in a column for ESPN, prospect expert Kiley McDaniel took it a step further, saying that Alvarez is the best prospect in the minors right now.
McDaniel spoke with industry sources before narrowing his list of candidates for that honor down to six, and -- along with Alvarez -- that list featured San Diego Padres shortstop C.J. Abrams, Detroit Tigers center fielder Riley Greene, Yankees shortstop Anthony Volpe, Toronto Blue Jays catcher Gabriel Moreno, and Arizona Diamondbacks center fielder Corbin Carroll.
But it was Alvarez who got the nod from McDaniel as the best of the best.
Wrote McDaniel:
"Alvarez is the youngest of this group by more than six months (still just 20 years old until almost Thanksgiving) and continues to hum right along, demolishing Double-A. He's playing the most valuable position on the field at catcher and is good enough to stay back there. ... For what it's worth, I think this answer will probably be clear -- and might very well be different -- after about another month of games, but that's not the exercise. Right now, I think Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez is the best prospect currently in the minor leagues."
