ST. PETERSBURG, FL. – Growing pains are to be expected and Rays wunderkind Wander Franco was experiencing them two weeks into his big league career.
Following a scintillating debut at Tropicana Field on June 22, in which he hit a three-run homer and doubled against the Red Sox, the 20-year-old headed into the all-star break hitting .197 in 15 games.
In 32 post-break games, the native of the Dominican Republic is hitting .299 and heads into a two-game series in Philadelphia, which gets underway Tuesday night, with his average up to .266.
Franco is also on the verge of setting a club record. He goes into the series against the Phillies having reached base safely in 24 consecutive games, which is tied with Rocco Baldelli (2003) for the longest such streak among rookies in team history.
During his on-base streak, Franco is hitting .312 (29-for-93) with 19 RBIs. He has also hit safely in 11 of his last 12 games, a stretch in which he is batting .340 (16-for-47).
“I am feeling very comfortable,” said Franco, through interpreter Manny Navarro, following Sunday’s 9-0 win over the White Sox, in which he doubled twice and came within a few feet of putting both balls over the wall. “I continue to do the same routine I do every day. I am seeing pitches well and doing what I want with them. As long as I try to make contact with good pitches rather than chase pitches, I think that is coming with good results.”
It is also coming with a name-dropping comparison. Franco’s on-base streak is the longest by a player 20 years of age or younger since Ken Griffey, Jr. pieced together a 25-game streak in 1990.
“That is a legendary name and everybody wants to be like him,” he said.
The Rays’ record for consecutive games reaching base safely is 48 by Tommy Pham, a streak that bridges the 2018 and 2019 seasons. As for such a streak in a single season, C.J. Cron holds that mark with 25 games in 2018. So Franco is one away from equalling that feat.
“Very professional at-bats, going the other way, going up the middle,” said manager Kevin Cash when asked about the maturity his young infieder has shown at the plate. “He is doing a lot of really good things and we are all confident in Wander’s ability. He is coming on real strong here of late.”
Franco has committed eight errors in 47 games — 39 at short, eight and third and one at second — but has also displayed exceptional defensive ability. Between his hitting and fielding the results have been glistening, albeit in less than 50 career MLB games.
“He plays real hard,” said Cash. “It is fun to watch. It is max effort all the time. We have a lot of guys like that and he has fit right in.”
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