I think the Mets will eventually look at the possibility of moving either Alvarez or Parada to a different position to be able to have both of them in the lineup together. Certainly Parada seems to have the athleticism to play elsewhere. Not familiar enough with Alvarez to know if he is. Of course there is also the possibility that one of them wins the big league job and they use the other for trade bait for a top flight pitcher.What seems to be a consensus ranking (this one from sny.tv) for where KP stands in the Mets system, along with recent comments on Parada from the Mets director of player development (bolding mine):
3. C Kevin Parada
Parada had a great opportunity this spring to get the invite to big league camp and work with catching instructor Glenn Sherlock as well as the chance to catch big league arms in bullpen sessions and talk through their mindset. Director of player development Kevin Howard told MLB.com: "From what we saw last summer, his receiving and throwing needed a lot of improvement, and I’ve never seen a guy improve at both so much this quickly."
Coming out of Georgia Tech, Parada was considered a bat-first catcher. If he can stick behind the plate, though, the Mets will have a good problem on their hands. Alvarez, right now, is the top catching prospect in the sport. It is possible that this time next year, Parada takes that throne.
MLB ETA: 2025
For those who don’t know, Jonathan Hughes has overcome an unbelievable amount of adversity … yet he still remains singlemindedly determined to make it to the Major Leagues. Three years ago, Sports Illustrated published the following article about him … it’s an excellent read:
Maxwell was dominant in this year’s debut!And then Maxwell comes in to pitch B9 against St. Lucie and just throws gas and strikes. 3 easy outs.
Imagine if Pabst were around for NIL?Rarely mentioned in the "catcher U" conversations but Arden Pabst has been playing pro ball for a good while. Starting out in Rome this year! https://www.mlb.com/braves/video/pabst-s-rbi-single
He just got called up to Mississippi. I’m at the Lookouts-MBraves game tonight, and Pabst just hit his first HR in AA! I’ll post the video once I figure out how to upload it somewhere.Rarely mentioned in the "catcher U" conversations but Arden Pabst has been playing pro ball for a good while. Starting out in Rome this year! https://www.mlb.com/braves/video/pabst-s-rbi-single