Skip to main content

Prospect Nation 2012: #19 3B Maikel Franco

By
Maikel Franco has quickly caught plenty of attention around minor league baseball. The Dominican Republic native, whose name is pronounced similarly to Miquel, was signed by the Phillies in 2010 as an amateur free agent.

The 6-foot-1-inch 180-pounder began his pro career with the Gulf Coast League Phillies in 2010. As that club’s everyday third baseman, Franco posted respectable numbers for a 17-year-old making his professional debut (.222/.292/.330). It was Franco’s defense, however, that immediately began to get him noticed. With excellent reflexes and a top notch arm at the hot corner, Franco impressed many in his U.S. debut.

A year later, Franco began the season in extended spring training and later competed with the short-season Williamsport Crosscutters. The righty hitting Franco looked great against NY-Penn League competition, posting 2 homers, 28 RBI and a .274/.339/.389 line in 42 games before earning a promotion to Class A Lakewood.

As an 18-year-old in the South Atlantic League, the baby-faced Franco struggled mightily. In 17 games for the BlueClaws, the Dominican born prospect went 8-for-67 (.123 avg) and racked up a weak .349 OPS. The Phillies realized Franco was over-matched and that he was growing discouraged, so he was re-assigned back to Williamsport, where he finished the season by batting .333 with 7 extra base hits and 10 RBI over his final 13 games with the Crosscutters.

One definite plus about Franco’s time with Lakewood was that he made no errors in those 17 games. However, striking out 15 times while walking only once for the 'Claws, compared to 30 K's and earning 25 free passes in 54 games for the 'Cutters screamed of Franco not being quite ready for the more experienced pitchers of the SAL.

With no career stolen base attempts in two pro seasons, speed is not a facet of Franco's game.

Mickey Morandini, who managed Franco with Williamsport in 2011 and will surely be reunited with him in Lakewood in 2012, as Morandini was promoted up a level this off-season, describes Franco as being relied on as a middle-of-the-lineup RBI guy. Morandini feels Franco projects as a power bat, as he fills out physically and climbs the developmental ladder.

Still very young, at 19 years of age until the end of August, Franco is in a great spot to land among the top tier of prospects if he can prove himself offensively at the full season Class A level this year.

____________________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

Also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Rappers in Phillies Caps

By
Weekend greetings to you phine pholks out there. Today's post features pictures of rappers wearing Phillies caps. Why rappers in Phillies caps, you ask? Because... Any other questions? We will start things off properly by going with a highly recognizable hip hop star. 50 Cent stays constantly relavant by consistantly creating radio friendly material to help sell (G) units, while he "keeps it real" by still rapping about the thug life he lived before becoming the 2nd highest earning black entertainer in America. 50 is seen here in a recent interview rocking a throw-back Phillies cap. Next up we'll use a throw-back screen cap from what may be the very first major appearance by a rapper wearing Phillies gear. Chuck D, of legendary rap group Public Enemy, wore a Phillies cap in the music video for rap anthem Fight The Power in 1989. The song was the lead single from the soundtrack for Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing . Next up we'll go with some home grown tal...
3 comments
Read more

Michael Taylor Q&A

By
Michael Taylor is currently leading the Reading Phillies' offense and is near the top of the Eastern League in most stat categories (3rd in batting avg- .342, 3rd in HR- 14, tied for second in RBI- 55, 2nd in OPS.- .994, tied for 1st in runs scored- 49, tied for 1st in hits...). The 23 year old Taylor is 6 feet 6 inches tall and has quickly grabbed the attention of phans and media alike as a top prospect to watch. I spoke with Mike Taylor over the weekend, and here is that interview. With all the big stats and being among the league leaders in so many categories, do you think you're ready for the next step? It's kind of a difficult question. Do you have anything left to prove here? There's always something to prove. There's stuff to prove every game. I mean that's one thing that's very interesting about this game. It's such a numbers oriented game. You're only as good as your last "whatever statistical category that someone's valuing". ...
2 comments
Read more

Ibanez Makes Hall of Fame History

By
It's every player's dream to be enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame. For Raul Ibanez , who hasn't had the sort of career that would ensure his face would one day be cast in bronze and displayed on the Hall walls, it was necessary to find a less common way to earn a spot in the annals of baseball history. Recently, Ibanez became the very first big league player to spend the night in the plaque gallery at the storied Hall of Fame. As detailed on the National Baseball Hall of Fame's website , Ibanez accompanied his son's Little League travel team to the Hall, where they participated in the Museum's "Extra Innings Overnight", a program that allows groups to travel to Cooperstown, NY in order learn more about the great game of baseball. Ibanez's son, Raul Jr., is 11-years-old and plays baseball in Lower Merion, PA. The article on the Hall of Fame's website quoted Ibanez as being excited to see some recent Phillies milestones represent...
Post a Comment
Read more