Impact Franco will take a seat after he went 1-for-7 with a walk and a strikeout over the first two games of the series. Taylor Walls will replace him at shortstop and bat eighth in the rubber match against Cincinnati.
APRIL 19, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
Day off Wednesday Franco is not in the starting lineup Wednesday versus the Reds, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Feeling better after root canal Rays manager Kevin Cash told reporters that Franco underwent a root canal before Tuesday's game against the Reds but is in the lineup and feeling better, Marc Topkin of the Tampa B...
Impact Franco played through his tooth issue Monday and 0-for-4 against the Reds in Great American Ballpark. The shortstop is hitting second against Nick Lodolo and Cincinnati and has complied a .300/.347/.586 slash with four homers and three steals over 70 at-bats in 17 games.
APRIL 18, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
Moved to DH with shoulder issue Franco has been moved from shortstop to designated hitter Sunday against the Blue Jays after telling the Tampa Bay staff he slept on the shoulder wrong, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Ba...
Impact With Franco remaining in the starting lineup, it appears this is more precautionary than a significant injury at this stage. The Tampa Bay lineup remains the same in order but with Taylor Walls now playing shortstop, Harold Ramirez lined up in left, Vidal Brujan taking over at third and Luke Raley now in right field.
APRIL 16, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
Three more hits in loss Franco went 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored in Saturday's loss to the Blue Jays.
Impact Franco just missed a fourth hit as he squared up a baseball that hit Jordan Romano directly in the ribs in the ninth inning, but Romano was able to make the play. That double is already the eighth of the season for the 22-year-old sensation, and it's the third time in 2023 that the shortstop has had a three-hit effort. It's hard not to be impressed with what Franco has done on the baseball diamond to begin the year.
APRIL 15, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
Tampa Bay Rays are 13-0: By The Numbers
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Knocks three hits, steals base Franco went 3-for-5 with three doubles, a stolen base and two runs scored in Wednesday's victory over the Red Sox.
Impact Franco continued his hot start, hitting three doubles and swiping his third base this year. The 22-year-old shortstop has now hit safely in 10 of the first 12 games of the season and is slashing .340/.370/.720 through 50 at-bats. While it's unlikely he'll maintain this torrid pace, Franco's contributions have been crucial to the Rays' impressive 12-0 start.
APRIL 13, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
Rays win 12th straight, approach history as rookie Taj Bradley K's 8 in debut start
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The Windup: Luis Arraez, Pablo López trade success and Wander Franco's breakout year Plus: teams taking a new approach with one aspect of player development, and for goodness’ sake, can we stop breaking all the shortstops?
APRIL 12, 2023 • THEATHLETIC.COM
Why this young star's early hot streak is for real Here’s what MLB Pipeline wrote in its scouting report of Wander Franco in 2021, when he was the No. 1 overall prospect in baseball: Franco h...
APRIL 12, 2023 • MLB.COM
Small sample size theater: One good early-season trend for each team that could be real Are Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Wander Franco primed to dominate? Which teams are running wild? A look at some early good signs in MLB.
APRIL 11, 2023 • THEATHLETIC.COM
Mike Trout, Pete Alonso headline Ben Verlander's MLB team of the week
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Another homer Franco went 1-for-4 with a solo home run Sunday against the Athletics.
Impact Franco took James Kaprielian yard in the first inning to tally his fourth home run of the season and third in his last four games. He's also tallied at least one hit in eight of his nine starts this season, which has resulted in a .482 wOBA. While that mark is unsustainable, Franco is showing results that match his pedigree as a former top overall prospect.
APRIL 10, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
Early power surge continues Franco went 1-for-5 with a solo home run Friday against the Athletics.
Impact Franco took Adam Oller deep in the eighth inning to tally his third homer of the season and second in as many games. He's gotten off to an impressive start to the new campaign, as he has at least one hit in six of seven contests and has tallied multiple hits on four occasions. Overall, Franco has chipped in across the board with two stolen bases, five runs scored and eight RBI.
APRIL 8, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
Smacks second homer Franco went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run and a walk Wednesday against the Nationals.
Impact Franco took Patrick Corbin yard in the third inning to record his second home run of the season. He's gotten off to a hot start to the new campaign, and Wednesday's effort marked his fourth multi-hit performance in six starts. In particular, Franco's power early on has been encouraging as he has five total extra-base knocks across 27 plate appearances.
APRIL 6, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
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Knocks in three Franco went 3-for-4 with two doubles, a walk, three RBI and a run scored Saturday against the Tigers.
Impact Franco was a key to the Rays' 12-run offensive outburst Saturday, with his first contribution coming on an RBI single in the third frame. He then knocked a double in the seventh frame which drove in two more runs. Franco has gotten off to a hot start this season, collecting five hits in his first eight at-bats.
APRIL 2, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
Tallies late homer Franco went 2-for-4 with a solo home run Thursday against the Tigers.
Impact Franco added an insurance run in the eighth inning with a solo home run off Mason Englert to put the Rays up 4-0. While he was otherwise quiet, the performance was reassuring after he battled a quadriceps issue late in spring training. After managing only 344 plate appearances in 2022, Franco will look to put together a full season of productivity this season.
MARCH 31, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
Preseason odds to win 2023 MLB American League MVP
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Batting second on Opening Day Franco is starting at shortstop and batting second for the Rays in Thursday's opener against the Tigers, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Impact Franco recently required an MRI for a sore quad, but it came back clean and he's ready to roll for Opening Day. The switch-hitter and his teammates will be going up against Eduardo Rodriguez.
MARCH 30, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
MLB odds: Win totals growing more popular with bettors, sharp bets
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Swings in batting cage Monday Franco (quadriceps) posted a video on his personal Instagram account featuring him swinging off a tee in the batting cage Monday, Tricia Whitaker of Bally Sports Sun reports.
Impact Franco's ability to take swings while he manages what he's described as right quad tightness is another sign that the 22-year-old is trending toward being available for Thursday's season opener versus the Tigers. Before locking Franco into weekly fantasy lineups, however, managers will want to confirm that he is in fact in the starting nine when Tampa Bay releases its lineup a few hours before Thursday's 3:10 p.m. ET first pitch.
MARCH 27, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
Feels ready for Opening Day Franco said Monday that his sore right quadricep has responded well to treatment, and he expects to be ready for to go for the Rays' season opener Thursday versus the Tigers, Marc...
Impact Elaborating further on the nature of his injury, Franco added that he believes his quad issue is more along the lines of tightness than a strain, and after a few more days of treatment, he should be ready to handle an everyday role at shortstop. The 22-year-old won't be available for Monday's Grapefruit League finale versus the Yankees and will finish the spring season with a .300/.417/.700 slash line to go with two home runs and a stolen base in nine games.
MARCH 27, 2023 • ROTOWIRE
