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Tampa Bay’s 21-year-old star shortstop slugged his first home run of the season in the third inning, the highlight of an encouraging all-around night for the Rays’ lineup in their 6-5 win over the Cubs. Franco’s talents were on display again in the seventh, when he crushed a low slider from lefty Josh Taylor to left field for a 105.3 mph double. Franco hustled and slid into second base, jumped to his feet and inspired rounds of “WAN-DER FRAN-CO” chants from the crowd of 12,994. MLB's No. 1 prospect made his big-league debut Tuesday night vs. the Boston Red Sox and came through in the clutch.
MLB's youngest player at age 20, the switch-hitting Franco started at third base and hit in the No. 2 spot against the Red Sox. He walked in his first plate appearance and hit a routine fly ball to center field his second time up. Then in the bottom of the fifth inning, he faced Boston left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez for a third time with two runners on base. After Lowe’s RBI single later in the third made it a four-run game, Franco crushed a 102.6 mph double into the ivy hanging on the left-field wall with nobody out in the fifth. That rally fizzled after Arozarena was thrown out trying to score on Franco’s second hit. But the Rays ultimately found the runs they needed in the seventh, when Arozarena doubled home Walls and scored on a Harold Ramirez single.
Top prospect Wander Franco homers in his MLB debut for Tampa Bay Rays
Maybe that’s just Franco’s naturally advanced approach in action. Maybe it’s his growing comfort and confidence playing a part. But this is what the Rays believe the switch-hitting shortstop is capable of doing, the reason he was such a highly touted prospect at such a young age.
His brothers, Wander Alexander Franco and Wander Javier Franco, played in the Houston Astros and San Francisco Giants organizations. His father, also named Wander, played minor league ball in the 1990s. His mother, Nancy Aybar, is the sister of Erick Aybar and Willy Aybar, both of whom played in Major League Baseball.
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All images are property the copyright holder and are displayed here for informational purposes only. Sign up for the free Baseball Reference newsletter and get scores, news and notes in your inbox every day. Cash called it a “web gem play.” To hear Franco describe it, it sounded routine. The franchise goes its own way, often clearing a path for the rest of baseball to follow. With one out in the third and Taylor Walls on first, Cubs left-hander Justin Steele got Randy Arozarena to hit a grounder to shortstop Nico Hoerner, who hurried to second to force out Walls. Arozarena beat Hoerner’s throw to first base, although he was initially ruled out.
Batting right-handed against Steele, he took two fastballs to get ahead in the count, then unloaded on a 91.5 mph sinker and ripped it out to left-center field. The ball flew off his bat at 108.3 mph, according to Statcast, and sailed a projected 417 feet into the Wrigley Field bleachers to give the Rays a 3-0 lead. He pulled a home run batting right-handed, then smashed a double to left-center while hitting left-handed in his next at-bat. While the rest of the Rays’ lineup is still trying to get on track, especially during a cold week in Chicago, Franco has been locked in from the start. And it’s not just Franco's power potential that impresses his teammates, of course. Franco reached on an opposite-field single in the sixth inning Wednesday, and he recorded more walks than strikeouts during his first two seasons in the Minors.
Tampa Bay Rays
Franco jumped on a breaking ball from Rodriguez and blasted it 362 feet into the left field stands for his first hit in the majors, tying the game 5-5. He’s only played 85 games in a Rays uniform, including the postseason, but the former top prospect has already shown a mature approach, incredible talent and a remarkable ability to come through in big moments. Franco’s two-run blast was the Rays’ first home run since Brandon Lowe went deep in the seventh inning of Thursday’s game against the A’s at Tropicana Field. It came in Franco’s first game at The Friendly Confines, the historic ballpark that’s 87 years older than him, and in his return to the lineup after being scratched late Monday afternoon. Two days after turning 20 years old, baseball’s top prospect launched a titanic home run well beyond the right-field fence and the neighboring boardwalk at Charlotte Sports Park. The ball traveled so high and far that it was nearly impossible to track, leading to plenty of guesses about where it actually landed.
Franco batted second in the lineup and played third base in the game. Prior to the three-run homer, Franco fouled off Rodríguez's first two pitches in the bottom of the first before Rodríguez threw four balls and walked Franco. On November 23, 2021, Franco and the Rays agreed to an eleven-year, $182 million contract extension, with a club option of $25 million for a twelfth year. At age 20, Franco became the youngest player in baseball history to sign a contract worth at least $100 million, passing Ronald Acuña Jr.'s eight-year, $100 million contract extension signed in 2019. Franco's deal was the largest for any player with less than one year of major league service. Back in the lineup Tuesday night at Wrigley Field, Franco looked as comfortable as he seemingly always does in the batter’s box.
Wander Franco hits game-tying HR vs. Red Sox for first MLB hit
Nevermind that his 104.2 mph missile to left-center field eventually caromed back into the outfield, or that the umpires initially ruled it a double. As he trotted to second base, Franco held up his hands, confused by the call. He knew he’d just hit a tie-breaking home run to end an impressive at-bat and key an important win for the Rays. "Pretty electric player. I wish we would have somehow gotten a win," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "Excited for him. You never forget that big-league debut. He checked a lot of boxes tonight." The consensus No. 1 prospect in the minor leagues hit a game-tying three-run home run Tuesday night against the division-leading Boston Red Sox to provide a glimpse of just why so many people have been eager to see him in a Rays uniform.
The crowd at Tropicana Field erupted, and he returned the favor by popping out of the dugout for his first curtain call. Overall, Franco saw 21 pitches over five plate appearances. He whiffed just once, on a fastball up in the zone in the third inning.
A switch hitter, Franco hit right-handed for his first four plate appearances against lefties Eduardo Rodríguez and Josh Taylor. Franco worked full counts in each of his first two trips to the plate. Rays catcher Mike Zunino said he has been impressed by Franco’s presence in the batter’s box.
On April 22, 2022, Franco had his first multi home run game against the Boston Red Sox. Franco became the youngest player in Tampa Bay Rays franchise history to have a multi homer game, doing so at age 21 and 52 days old. This wasn't the spark they hoped would end a six-game losing streak. But with the home run, a double and a gem of a double play defensively, Franco gave the Tropicana Field crowd a real glimpse of his promising future. He's only 20, and he'll be a big part of the rest of Tampa Bay's season, chasing Boston for the American League East lead. His only left-handed at-bat ended with a ground out to the pitcher against Matt Barnes with the game tied in the bottom of the ninth.
Franco faced high-level pitching as a 19-year-old working out at Tampa Bay’s alternate training site last summer, but he has never seemed rattled by the big league-caliber arms he has gone up against. Wherever it landed, Franco said he couldn’t recall ever hitting a ball that far in a game. Hitting the ball that hard, he said, made him feel like the Hulk. Share sports (and relevant non-sports) cards and collectibles, pulls, news, memorabilia, funny stories, case and box breaks, and absolutely no ebay auctions.
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