Welcome Back, Maikel Franco

The Phillies announced on Friday that 3B prospect Maikel Franco has been recalled from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. The promotion will see the 22-year-old go from the team with the worst record in the International League to the team with the second worst record (tie) in the National League.

Last September with the Phillies, the righty-batting slugger batted .179 with two doubles and five RBI in 16 games.

Prior to this season, six-foot-one 215-pounder has been somewhat of a notoriously slow starter during the regular season. However, this year with the IronPigs, a more mature Franco seems to have a far better idea at the plate, is guessing less and has been putting forth great output.

In his last nine games for Lehigh Valley, Franco has gone 18-for-37 (.486 average) with three home runs and 13 RBI. The Dominican native, has tallied a .355/384/.539 slash line in 33 overall games.

To see a feature on Franco from an episode of Phillies Nation, check out the media player below.

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