Álvarez's mammoth homer leaves the park -- literally

Lehigh Valley's Coca-Cola Park sits approximately 103 miles from Citi Field ... or just a little farther than the home run Francisco Álvarez hit on Wednesday night.

Baseball's top prospect unloaded on a monstrous blast that cleared the left-field fence, the bleachers, the billboards ... and pretty much anything else in its path. Unfortunately for Triple-A Syracuse, the long ball counted for just a single run in the club's 6-1 loss to Lehigh Valley.

It was the fourth homer in the last nine games for Álvarez, who began his Triple-A tenure 2-for-23. The burly backstop has gone 10-for-38 with seven extra-base hits and 11 RBIs since.

Álvarez led off the seventh inning with the Mets trailing, 6-0. IronPigs southpaw Michael Plassmeyer made one of his few mistakes, throwing a first-pitch fastball that soared off Álvarez's bat and out of the stadium entirely, so far in fact, no one is quite sure where the ball actually landed.

Although the 20-year-old is hitting just .197 since his promotion to Triple-A, he's amassed an .822 OPS thanks in large part to his recent surge and 15 walks in 18 games.

Asked about the possibility of Álvarez earning a promotion to New York this season, Mets general manager Billy Eppler preached patience, saying "he’s not an option right now."

Overall, Álvarez is slashing .261/.367/.535 with 42 extra-base hits, 22 homers and 61 RBIs in 85 contests with Double-A Binghamton and Syracuse.