MESA, Ariz. – Nacho Alvarez Jr. has been like many of us the past few weeks: spending a lot of his downtime watching the Blue Jays' Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit.
Where the 22-year-old Braves infielder differs is in the ability to take what he's seen from the five-time All-Star and adapt it into something he can do at the dish against professional pitching in the Arizona Fall League.
"I would say it's just more of like a hand pump," said Alvarez of what he's taken from the Blue Jays' star. "I tried it out, and honestly, it felt really [good]. I tried it last year in Triple-A, and then this year, I kinda was banged up, didn't really trust myself. But then I got here and I trusted the wrists a little more to continue to make these moves."
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The results have been immediate. While it won't go down as official, Alvarez turned in his first five-hit game as a professional Saturday afternoon, collecting 10 total bases during Glendale's 10-9 defeat to Mesa at Sloan Park.
Maybe most encouragingly is that there were no cheap knocks among the bunch for Alvarez, who is looking to put a strong capper on what has been a turbulent 2025:
1st inning: Double to RF, 105.1 mph vs. outer-third cutter
3rd inning: Homer to LF, 99.7 mph, 375 feet vs. center-center cutter
4th inning: Single to CF, 106.1 mph vs. lower-third sinker
7th inning: Single to LF, 104.7 mph vs. lower-third curveball
9th inning: Double to LF, 99.2 mph vs. lower-third slider
Over his past seven games, Alvarez has collected 11 hits and is now batting .315 with a .964 OPS during his time with the Desert Dogs. Prior to that run, he delivered two balls in play (in eight contests) that graded out as “hard hit,” which is anything with a 95+ mph exit velocity; in the outings since, he's produced 11 such events that have reached the mark.
The Braves' infielder is in a unique position: it's not often that players with enough big league experience to have graduated from prospect lists find themselves playing on the premier prospect circuit. But Alvarez is no ordinary Major Leaguer -- at just 22 years old, he's still the same age as many of his teammates, and much like many of them, he's looking to make up for lost time caused by injuries.
That he's feeling confident enough in his wrists to get back to his "A" swing is especially positive, following a left wrist injury that sidelined him until early June. Sure, the calendar now reads November, but in many ways, Alvarez is just finding his mid-season groove after being limited to 254 regular-season at-bats across three levels, including his time back with Atlanta.
"I'm super excited to see how long I can continue to make these moves and make these adjustments in the game," said Alvarez.
"Obviously, he's a super special player, super special hitter, but the biggest thing I care about with him is that he's a great guy," said White Sox top prospect Braden Montgomery, who has been Alvarez's teammate during the Fall League. "It's easy to see how he's found the success he's found. You surround yourself with positive energy, positive vibes, and positive things define you. So it's just been cool to share a field with him, talk with him, see what he does, see kind of how he approaches things."
Adding to the fun of being back healthy, swinging a hot bat, is the fact that the Arizona Fall League is flush with young fans in attendance. Every time Alvarez strides to the plate, the public address announcer lets the ballpark know that number 67 is taking his turn to bat. Without hesitation, there has almost always been an immediate yell back of "6-7" from the crowd, a reference to an internet meme that has entered the lexicon of the youth.
Alvarez laughs in acknowledgment of how silly it all is, but he's also reticent to switch up what the team gifted him when he made his season debut for the Braves back on July 12: a jersey with the number 67 on the back.
"6-7 was not intentional, trust me, it wasn't," he said. "I knew as soon as I saw it … this is gonna be a [hard] time. … It’s been a good year, though. I might just [keep] rolling it out."