Rays' Franco picks up Player of the Week
A 12-game hitting streak and three of homers were more than enough to earn Wander Franco even more recognition Monday. Tampa Bay's top prospect was voted Midwest League Player of the Week after he tore up the circuit with a hitting streak that ended April 28.
A 12-game hitting streak and three of homers were more than enough to earn
Tampa Bay's top prospect was voted Midwest League Player of the Week after he tore up the circuit with a hitting streak that ended April 28.
Franco, an 18-year-old shortstop, is 15-for-38 (.395) over his last 10 games with Class A Bowling Green. He hit three homers in two nights last week, highlighted by a two-homer, three-RBI performance on April 25 against Lansing.
• View the Pitcher of the Week winners »
Franco went 5-for-9 in three games against Fort Wayne, including a 3-for-3 night on April 23. He homered on April 24, went 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBIs on April 25 against the Lugnuts and ended the week with a base hit against Lansing on April 26. The 12-game streak came to end Sunday, when he went hitless in four at-bats.
"Franco is making adjustments; not swinging at balls out of the zone," said Bowling Green hitting coach Jeremy Owens. "Wander is a good hitter. It's about growth and development."
Franco, a switch-hitting infielder from the Dominican Republic who signed with the Rays in July 2017, is batting .311 with 23 hits in 20 games this season for Bowling Green. In his pro debut last year, he hit .351 with 11 homers and 57 RBIs in 61 games with Rookie Advanced Princeton in the Appalachian League. He won a pair of Player of the Week awards last summer and was later voted the Appy League's Player of the Year and a postseason All-Star.
Below is the complete list of Minor League Offensive Players of the Week for April 22-28:
League | Player | Team | MLB | Stats |
---|---|---|---|---|
International | Kean Wong | Durham | TB | .619/.667/1.000, 6 G, 13-for-24, 3 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 8 RBI, 7 R, 3 BB, 5 K, 1 SB) |
Pacific Coast | Luis Urias | El Paso | SD | .429/.500/1.250, 6 G, 12-for-28, 1 2B, 2 3B, 6 HR, 11 RBI, 11 R, 3 BB, 4 K |
Eastern | Hunter Owen | Altoona | PIT | .417/.444/1.000, 6 G, 10-for-24, 3 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 6 RBI, 7 R, 1 BB, 7 K |
Southern | Weston Wilson | Biloxi | MIL | .308/.419/.769, 7 G, 8-for-26, 1 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 9 RBI, 5 R, 5 BB, 2 K, 2 SB |
Texas | Zach Reks | Tulsa | LAD | .500/.615/.800, 6 G, 10-for-20, 0 2B, 2 HR, 3 RBI, 8 R, 5 BB, 4 K, 1 CS |
California | Luis Alejandro Basabe | Visalia | ARI | .421/.500/.842, 6 G, 8-for-19, 2 2B, 2 HR, 8 RBI, 5 R, 4 BB, 1 K, 2 SB, 1 CS |
Carolina | Yonny Hernandez | Down East | TEX | .474/.615/.632, 6 G, 9-for-19, 1 2B, 1 3B, 0 HR, 0 RBI, 4 R, 7 BB, 2 K, 4 SB |
Florida State | Brady Policelli | Lakeland | DET | .444/.483/.889, 7 G, 12-for-27, 2 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 5 RBI, 6 R, 2 BB, 5 K, 2 SB) |
Midwest | Wander Franco | Bowling Green | TB | .429/.500/1.000, 6 G, 9-for-21, 3 2B, 3 HR, 5 RBI, 7 R, 3 BB, 2 K, 1 SB, 2 CS |
South Atlantic | Sam Huff | Hickory | TEX | .348/.444/1.000, 7 G, 8-for-23, 0 2B, 5 HR, 6 RBI, 7 R, 4 BB, 7 K, 2 SB |
Danny Wild is an editor for MiLB.com.