Just a few days ago, Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco hit not one, but two home runs against the Boston Red Sox in a 4-3 loss. The team would go on to win the next two and take the series in Tropicana Field. The phenom is simply picking up from where he left off. This is also coming off his monster first homer of the year at Wrigley Field on April 19th.
Through 15 games this season, Franco currently leads the Rays with a .349 batting average, a .999 OPS, seven doubles, 10 RBIs, and three home runs (tied with Brandon Lowe as the team leader). For his second year of baseball in the majors, his stats are incredible and it has analysts and other writers talking an AL MVP for the young gun.
In 2017, the Rays signed Franco out of the Dominican Republic to a $3.85 million minor league contract. At the time, he was ranked No.1 on MLBPipeline.com’s Top 30 International Prospects List. However, the Tampa Bay organization had no idea what would come from the explosive talent they had on their hands. Bill Evers, a former field coordinator for the Rays in 2006-07, saw Franco at age 14. Evers said that “he had the greatest hand-eye coordination I’d seen in my career.” Perhaps that explains the .299 career batting average in not even a full two years with the Rays and the third place finish in AL Rookie of the Year voting.
The shortstop has also improved his game in the field making many highlight plays when stopping ground balls. The scary thing about all of this is that Franco is only 21-years-old. And after signing a 11-year, $182 million contract, he is going to be playing in Tampa Bay for a long time and the sky is the limit for him. His dynamic game that includes racking up hits of all kinds and making electrifying plays in the field are something phenomenal and something Rays fans and all fans of baseball will enjoy for years to come.