While several top Los Angeles Dodgers prospects like Walker Buehler and Cody Bellinger successfully became Major League stars, the same has not been true for Yadier Alvarez.
Once considered one of the most talented pitching prospects in the Dodgers organization, Alvarez has been unable to stay on the field in recent years. The Cuban native has dealt with arm and developmental issues that have plagued his development.
When he has been on the field, control issues and high ERA marks have constantly dogged him. Alvarez only appeared in two games for Double-A Tulsa this season, allowing six earned runs in five innings.
But now Alvarez appears to have a different issue, as the Dodgers have suspended him for too many unexcused absences, per J.P. Hoornstra of the Southern California News Group:
Minor league pitcher Yadier Alvarez was placed on the restricted list last Monday because of multiple unexcused absences.
The Dodgers’ disciplinary action removed the young right-hander from their 40-man roster.
Heading into the year the Dodgers appeared to be gearing up for a turnaround campaign from Alvarez. Several club officials worked closely with him in Spring Training to tweak his delivery. However, Alvarez was still not expected to make the Major Leagues this year.
Despite only being 23 years old, he has been in the Dodgers’ Minor League system long enough that top prospects who joined the Dodgers after Alvarez, such as Gavin Lux and Dustin May and Tony Gonsolin, all surpassed him in consensus prospect rankings and eventually reached the Majors in 2019.
The Dodgers originally signed Alvarez out of Cuba in 2015. He spent 2016 with the rookie level Arizona League Dodgers and Low-A Great Lakes Loons before getting promoted to the High-A Rancho Cucamonga and eventually joining the Drillers later in 2017.
However, Alvarez’s development appeared to stall with Tulsa in 2018. He walked batters at a career-high rate of eight per nine innings while recording a 4.66 ERA in 48.1 innings.
