The first-place New York Mets are calling up top prospect Francisco Álvarez for their pivotal weekend series against the Atlanta Braves.

The 20-year-old Álvarez is rated the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball by MLB.com, which reported his promotion earlier. He batted .260 with 27 home runs, 78 RBIs and an .885 OPS combined at Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Syracuse this season.

New York leads the NL East by one game over the defending World Series champion Braves heading into their three-game series in Atlanta that begins Friday night. Both teams are headed to the playoffs and have six games remaining in the regular season.

The division winner earns a first-round bye, while the second-place finisher will be the top NL wild card and host a best-of-three postseason series starting Oct. 7.

Álvarez, a catcher and right-handed hitter, figures to be used as the Mets' designated hitter against left-handed pitching — including Friday's scheduled Braves starter, Max Fried.

New York has received little production from right-handed hitters Darin Ruf and rookie Mark Vientos at DH since sending J.D. Davis to San Francisco at the Aug. 2 trade deadline.

Left-handed hitter Daniel Vogelbach is New York's regular DH against right-handers.