John Geliebter-USA TODAY Sports
If the old saying is true and people are judged by the company they keep, Maikel Franco has to be judged pretty highly these days. No doubt about it, Franco will have to bring up his batting average from .253 to be a serious candidate for Rookie of the Year honors but all other indicators are that he deserves to be at least in the opening conversation.
Franco has played 38 games in MLB—22 this year—and only eight players have had more home runs through their first 38 games in the history of the sport than Franco does for the Philadelphia Phillies. To put this in perspective, former Phils’ sluggers Greg Luzinski and Ryan Howard each had just four homers through their first 38 games, while the Phillies all-time homer leader, Mike Schmidt, had just three.
Franco’s 16 games last year can be dismissed because he was a hasty September call-up coming off a subpar Triple-A season. Even more impressive is the fact that all of the homers have come in this 22-game season, when his extended month in Triple-A proved his was ready for the big leagues. In 33 games for Lehigh Valley (Pa.), Franco hit .355 with four homers and 24 RBI. Compare that to his 2014 Triple-A year for the same club (16 homers, .257 and 78 RBI) and indications are that plate adjustments have been made to accentuate his impressive skill set.
Both due to his prowess as a power hitter and a fielder, Franco has been compared to Schmidt or another former Phil third baseman, Scott Rolen, who is widely considered to be Schmidt Light. Whether or not Franco turns into Schmidt or Rolen is a matter of debate, but what is not debatable is that he has big-time power potential.
All indications are that the batting average will come up as well because Franco hit almost 100 points better (.355 vs. .257) this Triple-A season over last and he hit .339 for Double-A Reading (Pa.) in 2013. If his MLB numbers take a spike in a similar direction, Franco could very well win the ROY Award this season.
Mike Gibson is a Phillies writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @papreps , “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google.
