[h=1]Wander Franco the new No. 1 dynasty league prospect[/h]
ESPN PLUS ($ MATERIAL)
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s time as the top prospect in the minor leagues has come to an end with his promotion to the Toronto Blue Jays. Prior to the season, I would have expected Fernando Tatis Jr. to take up the mantle at this point, but he actually skipped the line and beat Guerrero Jr. to the top. For the sake of my weekly 2019-focused rankings, Nick Senzel will likely hold the pole position until he is also promoted in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the real new top prospect in all of baseball is Wander Franco.
Signed as the top international prospect at age 16, the nephew of Erick and Willy Aybar received a $3.825 million bonus from the Tampa Bay Rays in the summer of 2017. Typically, the signing is the last we hear of teenage international prospects -- and domestic ones, for that matter -- for a while. After the ink dries, it usually takes several years of development before they become relevant prospects to the mass baseball population.
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Franco is a unicorn. He has been able to stay extremely relevant through his last few juvenile years and now into adulthood. To their credit, the Rays, traditionally one of the slower-promoting organizations, have accelerated his placement, and he has responded with nothing but production.
Instead of keeping Franco in his native Dominican Republic for an additional summer, or moving him to its complex in Port Charlotte for Gulf Coast League action, Tampa Bay sent him to the Appalachian League in 2018 to play for the Princeton Rays -- the Rays' Rookie-level affiliate. Playing against mostly 20-year-olds, the newly turned 17-year-old hit .351/.418/.587 with 28 extra-base hits (11 home runs) in 61 games. Even more impressive, he walked 27 times and struck out on just 19 occasions.
The next rung up from Princeton on the organizational ladder is usually a short-season assignment with Class-A Hudson Valley of the New York-Penn League. Once more, the Rays bucked their own trend and placed Franco with their full-season affiliate in Bowling Green to start the 2019 campaign.
Now 18, in a league where most players can get a beer after the game, Franco is once again more than holding his own. He entered last night's action riding a 10-game hit streak and did not stop there. He went 3-for-4 with two home runs to make it 11 straight. Overall, he is hitting .333 with a 1.041 OPS in 81 plate appearances. He already has 11 extra-base hits and once again is walking (11) more than he is striking out (7). Have I mentioned all this offensive output is coming from a shortstop?
Franco is not just a statistical wunderkind. Franco generates insane bat speed with a feel for the strike zone, which has scouts and evaluators in agreement with what the numbers portend. In ranking Franco third overall on his preseason top 100 behind Tatis and Guerrero Jr., Keith Law said "you can easily future-grade him 70 hit/70 power, and if he stays at shortstop, we're wondering if he's a top-five player in all of baseball."
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</article>As for the defensive aspect, there is nothing that would scare me off of shortstop right now. He has the arm for the left side of the infield and is currently built for the position. That may change as he matures physically, but the production will play at any position.
Obviously an 18-year-old playing games in Bowling Green, Kentucky, does not need to be on the radar of anyone playing in a redraft league. Even at this aggressive pace, he would not likely be a factor until 2021 or perhaps late 2020 if he just sets the minor leagues on fire, Guerrero-style. Were that to be the case, things like service time manipulation will come into play even more so. If that's your game, keep tabs on his progress, but there is nothing for you to do now except enjoy watching an exceptional talent grow.
For dynasty league players, now is the time to strike. I would venture to say he is rostered in 100 percent (or very close to it) of all these leagues. But his timeline -- I am estimating 18 to 24 months -- means he could be available in a trade. If it doesn't look like it's going be your year or if you went all-in last season and need to replenish the farm, I would be going hard after Franco owners immediately. Obviously, informed players already know, but the noise around this kid is going to get only louder with time. If you have someone's missing piece for 2019 or can deal from a position of depth at the major league level, I highly suggest you make a deal for Wander Franco now. Just make sure you get the right one -- he has two brothers with the same name!
ESPN PLUS ($ MATERIAL)
Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s time as the top prospect in the minor leagues has come to an end with his promotion to the Toronto Blue Jays. Prior to the season, I would have expected Fernando Tatis Jr. to take up the mantle at this point, but he actually skipped the line and beat Guerrero Jr. to the top. For the sake of my weekly 2019-focused rankings, Nick Senzel will likely hold the pole position until he is also promoted in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the real new top prospect in all of baseball is Wander Franco.
Signed as the top international prospect at age 16, the nephew of Erick and Willy Aybar received a $3.825 million bonus from the Tampa Bay Rays in the summer of 2017. Typically, the signing is the last we hear of teenage international prospects -- and domestic ones, for that matter -- for a while. After the ink dries, it usually takes several years of development before they become relevant prospects to the mass baseball population.
<offer style="box-sizing: border-box;"></offer>
Franco is a unicorn. He has been able to stay extremely relevant through his last few juvenile years and now into adulthood. To their credit, the Rays, traditionally one of the slower-promoting organizations, have accelerated his placement, and he has responded with nothing but production.
Instead of keeping Franco in his native Dominican Republic for an additional summer, or moving him to its complex in Port Charlotte for Gulf Coast League action, Tampa Bay sent him to the Appalachian League in 2018 to play for the Princeton Rays -- the Rays' Rookie-level affiliate. Playing against mostly 20-year-olds, the newly turned 17-year-old hit .351/.418/.587 with 28 extra-base hits (11 home runs) in 61 games. Even more impressive, he walked 27 times and struck out on just 19 occasions.
The next rung up from Princeton on the organizational ladder is usually a short-season assignment with Class-A Hudson Valley of the New York-Penn League. Once more, the Rays bucked their own trend and placed Franco with their full-season affiliate in Bowling Green to start the 2019 campaign.
Now 18, in a league where most players can get a beer after the game, Franco is once again more than holding his own. He entered last night's action riding a 10-game hit streak and did not stop there. He went 3-for-4 with two home runs to make it 11 straight. Overall, he is hitting .333 with a 1.041 OPS in 81 plate appearances. He already has 11 extra-base hits and once again is walking (11) more than he is striking out (7). Have I mentioned all this offensive output is coming from a shortstop?
Franco is not just a statistical wunderkind. Franco generates insane bat speed with a feel for the strike zone, which has scouts and evaluators in agreement with what the numbers portend. In ranking Franco third overall on his preseason top 100 behind Tatis and Guerrero Jr., Keith Law said "you can easily future-grade him 70 hit/70 power, and if he stays at shortstop, we're wondering if he's a top-five player in all of baseball."
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</article>As for the defensive aspect, there is nothing that would scare me off of shortstop right now. He has the arm for the left side of the infield and is currently built for the position. That may change as he matures physically, but the production will play at any position.
Obviously an 18-year-old playing games in Bowling Green, Kentucky, does not need to be on the radar of anyone playing in a redraft league. Even at this aggressive pace, he would not likely be a factor until 2021 or perhaps late 2020 if he just sets the minor leagues on fire, Guerrero-style. Were that to be the case, things like service time manipulation will come into play even more so. If that's your game, keep tabs on his progress, but there is nothing for you to do now except enjoy watching an exceptional talent grow.
For dynasty league players, now is the time to strike. I would venture to say he is rostered in 100 percent (or very close to it) of all these leagues. But his timeline -- I am estimating 18 to 24 months -- means he could be available in a trade. If it doesn't look like it's going be your year or if you went all-in last season and need to replenish the farm, I would be going hard after Franco owners immediately. Obviously, informed players already know, but the noise around this kid is going to get only louder with time. If you have someone's missing piece for 2019 or can deal from a position of depth at the major league level, I highly suggest you make a deal for Wander Franco now. Just make sure you get the right one -- he has two brothers with the same name!
