Insane Mets statistic shows how valuable Francisco Alvarez is to the team

We know Francisco Alvarez is an asset to the New York Mets. How truly important is he?

Among all MLB catchers, Alvarez has the third-lowest ERA. The 2.49 ERA is only bested by Brett Sullivan of the San Diego Padres (just 4 batters behind the plate) and Reese McGuire of the Boston Red Sox. Sullivan has a 0.00 ERA with McGuire barely ahead of Alvarez at 2.48.

Catcher ERA might not be such a well-known or referenced statistic. However, there is no denying the difference when Alvarez is there and when he isn’t. Out of 83 different MLB catchers this season, only 8 have ERAs under 3.00 and most of them have been behind the plate for fewer hitters than Alvarez.

How do the other Mets catchers compare to Francisco Alvarez in this statistic?

As much as we love him, Mets pitchers haven’t had as much luck with Luis Torrens. He can gun runners out, but they possess a 4.43 ERA when he is behind the plate. It’s actually worse than what Omar Narvaez offered at 4.31. Of course, catcher ERA is only a fraction of what it takes to play the position. Narvaez’s complete inability to throw out base runners takes away all thought of him possibly being a better player than Torrens.

Somewhat surprisingly, the worst ERA this season for a Mets catcher belongs to Tomas Nido. At 5.16, it ranks 73rd among the 83 at the position this season. The only other catchers at the position who’ve been behind the plate for more than 500 hitters and own an ERA above 5.00 are players from the Oakland Athletics and Colorado Rockies. Those unfortunate Rockies have two catchers in this section.

Since his return from the IL, the Mets have been winning a lot more and he has had praise heaped on him. Justifiably so. Pitchers are more confident with him behind the plate. It’s not even a matter of familiarity either. Most of the Mets pitchers we’ve seen this year hadn’t thrown to Alvarez in the past at all. It’s easy to forget this is only his second full season in the major leagues.