Wander Franco

22-Year-Old ShortstopSS

Tampa Bay Rays

Out

Injury Personal

Est. Return 2/1/2024

2023 Stats

AVG

.281

RBI

Rest-of-Season Projections

AVG

RBI

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2023 Fantasy Outlook

The Rays bet big on Franco last winter in the form of an 11-year, $182 million contract extension. This was after just 70 games at the big-league level for Franco, so it's clear Tampa Bay, a notoriously "frugal" franchise, is head over heels as are most evaluators. His 2022 season did not go as planned as Franco battled a quadriceps injury before undergoing surgery in July to repair a fractured hamate bone. While his numbers in 83 games leave something to be desired, Franco continued to display excellent contact skills, with Statcast putting him in the top 4% of the league in terms of xBA. He was also a perfect 8-for-8 on the basepaths. The switch hitter returned to play in 25 regular-season games down the stretch, slashing .322/.381/.471. In time, Franco could prove to be a better-in-real-life-than-fantasy sort of player, but beware of any definitive labels put on this all-world talent as they could look silly a year or two from now. Read Past Outlooks

RANKSFrom Preseason

#82

ADP

Overall

Dynasty

League Majors

Bats B

Throws R

40 Man Yes

Height 5'10"

Weight 190

DOB 3/1/2001

Born Bani, DR

College None

Drafted 2017 TB

Back on 40-man amid investigation

SSTampa Bay Rays

Personal

November 2, 2023

Franco was activated Thursday from administrative leave, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.

ANALYSIS
This is merely a procedural move, as administrative leave is only applicable during the season and the World Series came to an end Wednesday. Franco is still under investigation from both authorities in the Dominican Republic and Major League Baseball following allegations that emerged this summer involving inappropriate relationships with minors. Topkin notes that Franco's "status to return to playing remains unchanged and uncertain."

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Batting Stats

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2023

2022

2021

2020

2023 MLB Game Log

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2022 MLB Game Log

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2021 MLB Game Log

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Batting Order Slot Breakdown

vs Right-Handed Pitchers

vs RHP

vs Left-Handed Pitchers

vs LHP

Left/Right Batting Splits

Since 2021

+23%

OPS vs LHP

2023

+17%

OPS vs LHP

2022

+7%

OPS vs LHP

2021

+47%

OPS vs LHP

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2021vs Left	.928	276	47	9	38	12	.332	.388	.540
Since 2021vs Right	.752	867	117	21	92	28	.266	.325	.427
2023vs Left	.930	95	16	3	13	10	.325	.400	.530
2023vs Right	.793	396	49	14	45	20	.270	.331	.462
2022vs Left	.788	71	8	2	9	1	.304	.324	.464
2022vs Right	.734	273	38	4	24	7	.269	.330	.404
2021vs Left	1.020	110	23	4	16	1	.357	.418	.602
2021vs Right	.696	198	30	3	23	1	.251	.308	.388
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Home/Away Batting Splits

Since 2021

+2%

OPS on Road

2023

+6%

OPS at Home

2022

+13%

OPS on Road

2021

+4%

OPS on Road

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2021Home	.787	571	86	15	74	20	.269	.327	.459
Since 2021Away	.802	572	78	15	56	20	.294	.353	.449
2023Home	.841	258	38	10	36	15	.282	.341	.500
2023Away	.795	233	27	7	22	15	.279	.348	.447
2022Home	.697	166	21	3	17	4	.250	.289	.408
2022Away	.791	178	25	3	16	4	.302	.365	.426
2021Home	.793	147	27	2	21	1	.269	.347	.446
2021Away	.825	161	26	5	18	1	.305	.348	.477
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Stat Review

How does Wander Franco compare to other hitters?

This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

BB/K
Walk to strikeout ratio
BB Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
K Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
BABIP
Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
ISO
Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
AVG
Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
OBP
On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
SLG
Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
OPS
On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
wOBA
Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
Exit Velocity
The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
Hard Hit Rate
A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
Barrels/PA
The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
Expected BA
Expected Batting Average.
Expected SLG
Expected Slugging Percentage.
Sprint Speed
The speed of a runner from home to first, in feet per second.
Ground Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are on the ground.
Line Drive %
The percentage of balls put in play that are line drives.
Fly Ball %
The percentage of balls put in play that are fly balls.

BB/K

0.61

BB Rate

8.6%

K Rate

14.1%

BABIP

.297

ISO

.195

AVG

.281

OBP

.344

SLG

.475

OPS

.819

wOBA

.355

Exit Velocity

89.4 mph

Hard Hit Rate

36.8%

Barrels/PA

5.9%

Expected BA

.300

Expected SLG

.484

Sprint Speed

22.9 ft/sec

Ground Ball %

47.2%

Line Drive %

23.3%

Fly Ball %

29.4%

Prospect Rankings History

View Complete Wander Franco Prospect Ranking History

Advanced Batting Stats

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Additional Stats

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Defensive Stats

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Batted Ball Stats

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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2022

2021

2020

2019

2018

The 2021-22 offseason was full of surprise signings before the lockout, with Franco's 11-year guaranteed deal at the top of the list. Everyone has been conditioned to envision the Rays either signing players through their arb years, or playing the player until he is 2-3 years shy of free agency and then trading him for max value. In this case, Franco's rookie season was so amazing, not only did he get strong consideration for the Rookie of the Year Award with only 70 games played, he also received a financial commitment from a team that has cried poor for its entire history. Franco quickly showed an ability to look like a 10-year vet at the plate, and mistakes at the plate and on the bases were rarely repeated. His hype and contract will likely push his 2022 fantasy acquisition cost to ridiculous levels, but he is an extremely high-floor player. Franco will play every day high in the lineup and produce double-digit homers and steals while pushing for 100 runs with a high average.

Like most top prospects, Franco spent the summer at his team's alternate training site, but unlike most prospects, he was on the postseason taxi squad and got work in on the field prior to World Series games. His bat speed and contact ability remain elite, but he needs to lift the ball more to maximize his power output. Franco may no longer be a plus runner, but he should still be on base enough to steal double-digit bases. Shoulder inflammation cut short his winter ball season, and while the team says there is no structural damage, it's something to monitor this spring. If there is an MiLB season, he would open the year in the minors and could receive a first-half promotion to the majors. Franco (a switch hitter) won't be platooned, but the Rays generally love platoons and like moving players around, so it's possible he could gain eligibility at some combination of third base, second base and shortstop.

Franco's only imperfection as a prospect is that he is not yet in the majors. He does not turn 19 until March, yet he has already mastered the Appalachian League, Midwest League and Florida State League. The switch hitter has an extremely rare combination of elite bat speed and an elite approach (54:83 K:BB in 175 games), which will allow him to hit for a very high average with monster power in his peak seasons. He is also a plus runner, but he is still learning how to steal bases efficiently (56.4% success rate on 39 attempts). Even as the clear top signee from the 2017 July 2 international signing class, Franco has exceeded expectations every step of the way, which makes setting expectations for his third pro season something of a challenge. With the Rays in a contention cycle, it would be foolish to just assume Franco will spend another full season in the minors, but early 2021 is his most likely ETA.

Franco won’t turn 18 until March 1, but already looks the part of a future superstar. A switch-hitting shortstop who may end up at third or second, Franco has the quickest bat in the minors. He made consistent, hard contact throughout his pro debut in the Appy League, finishing top five in ISO (.239), wRC+ (159) and BB/K (1.42) as the league’s youngest hitter. Franco was the clear top prospect in the 2017 July 2 international signing class -- pedigree that topples that of the typical player in that league. But consider this: Vlad Jr. toured the Appy League as a 17-year-old two years ago and tallied a .178 ISO, 122 wRC+ and 0.94 BB/K. Simply put, Franco is a significantly better hitter than the top prospect in baseball was at the same age. The Rays rarely fast track prospects, but Franco should be the exception. His MLB ETA is difficult to peg, as he has yet to make his full-season debut, but he will be ready for big-league pitching before he turns 20.

Prior to Franco in 2017, here are the last five consensus top prospects from the July 2 international signing period: Kevin Maitan, Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Adrian Rondon, Eloy Jimenez and Franklin Barreto. Rondon looks like a bust and it’s too early to say what Maitan will be. Barreto is a big-league ready top-50 prospect with some upside and some flaws, while Guerrero and Jimenez are easily top-five prospects in the game. Investing in players who have yet to play a professional game, like Franco, is awfully risky, but recent history suggests it’s a risk worth taking if the price is right. Franco is a 5-foot-10 switch-hitting shortstop who turns 17 in March and is expected to eventually move to second base. He was considered the best hitter in this year’s class, with the potential to hit for a high average and offer 20-plus homer pop. The payoff will be at least four years down the road, but the upside is such that Franco should be stashed now in deeper leagues.

More Fantasy News

Placed on administrative leave

SSTampa Bay Rays

Personal

August 22, 2023

Franco was placed on administrative leave Tuesday by Major League Baseball under the Joint Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Policy, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.