I was hoping to get your thoughts on Henderson Alvarez with regards to what kind of potential he has. He has 2 plus pitches, mid 90s fastball and a killer changeup. The slider is still a work in progress, but I have seen him snap off a few nice tight sliders. He needs to continue developing the pitch and gain consistency. With his stuff, he should get more strikeouts, but the career milb k rate is 6.5 k/9. I think once the slider comes around, the k rate will increase to 7+ k/9.

Keith Law ranked Alvarez #39 on his midseason 50 list last summer. He made his debut for the Blue Jays in the 2nd half as a 21 year old and held his own: 63.2 IP, 40 K, 3.53 era, 3.38 xfip, 3.42 siera, 1.13 whip, only 8 bb. Small sample size, but we can agree that this was an impressive start to a career for just a 21 year old kid. He did this with pretty much only his fastball and changeup. If the breaking ball improves, I think he is gonna be a darn good pitcher for the Toronto Blue Jays. Furthermore, his elite groundball rates (50+%) will contribute to his success in the AL East.

What are your thoughts on Henderson Alvarez?