Major Leaguer resume Vol.88/ WBC Player’s resume Vol.74: Wander Franco(Tampa Bay Rays) : Major Candidate for Team Dominican Republic: “Hope of Tampa!”

■Today’s player
Today's player concerns the Tampa Bay Rays shortstop, Wander Franco. Franco is a Dominican-born player and could play for Team Dominican Republic in the 2023  World Baseball Classic.


■The KAISPO's baseball analyst comments
"Franco is a young switch hitter with good contact. his upper body muscles are well-developed, giving him speed and sharpness in his swing and throwing. He recorded good batting results in the minors compared to Guerrero Jr. Franco has shown his presence with a career batting average of .282 and aggressive defensive plays as a shortstop. Although he doesn't hit so many homers, he has marked a .439 career SLG with many doubles. The Rays protected the future MLB star with the largest contract(12 years, $185 million) in franchise history. I want to pay attention to how he evolves in the future."

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■Story
Wander Franco, at 16, signed with the Rays to a minor league contract to chase the American dream on July 2, 2017. Franco had been highly expected with high performance since marking .351 in 2017.

Franco sensationally made his big league debut at 20 against the Boston Red Sox on June 22, 2021. He appeared in the game as a starting third baseman, batting second, going 2 for 4 with a game-tying three-run home run for the first homer, hit of his career, and a double. Franco had reached base safely in 43 straight games, good for a tie with Frank Robinson in 1956 for the longest all-time by a player 20 years old or younger. He slashed .283/.347/.463 with seven homers and 39 RBIs in his first year.

On April 22, 2022, against the Red Sox, the switch-hitting infielder delivered two homers for the first multi-homer game of his career. He became the youngest player with a multi-homer game in franchise history at 21 years and 52 days old and the third youngest player in Major League history. In 2022, Franco was placed on the 10-day injured list on May 31 due to right quadriceps strain and on July 10 because of right wrist discomfort. He finished the 2022 season with .277, six home runs, and 33 RBIs across 83 outings.

■MLB Career Stats
Franco has batted .282/.337/.439 with 13 long balls and 72 RBIs in his two MLB seasons at the end of the 2022 campaigns.
(MLB No.382  KAISPO No.1562)