The Dominican Wander Franco debuted in the majors in style.
Franco, making his major league debut, hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the fifth inning off Eduardo Rodriguez to tie the Rays at five against the Red Sox Tuesday night at Tropicana Field.
Visibly moved, Franco raised his right arm in victory as he passed through the first and had to leave the dugout to greet the crowd after touring the bases.
The left-field homer, off Rodriguez’s first pitch, left Franco’s bat at 95.5 mph and traveled an estimated distance of 362 feet, according to Statcast.
Earlier in the evening, and in the middle of all the expectation on your shouldersFranco had started his career in the Big Top aggressively swinging violently and fouling Rodriguez’s first two pitches on the night. But if anyone believed that the 20-year-old Dominican prospect was anxious, it quickly became clear that this was not the case.
After those swings as Tampa Bay’s second hitter in the bottom of the first inning, the best prospect in all of baseball he missed four pitches on the ball, several near the strike zone, to receive a hard-earned walk on his first trip to the plate.
The passport brought Yandy Díaz to second base and paid off soon after when Díaz and Franco scored on an RBI single by fellow Dominican Francisco Mejía to give Tampa Bay an early 2-0 lead.
On his second inning, with the Rays now trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the 3rd inning, Franco again led to three balls and two strikes before missing a long fly ball to center field. The ball left the bat at 96.4 mph and traveled an estimated distance of 370 feet, according to Statcast.
The best prospect in baseball had already made himself felt when he arrived at the stadium on Tuesday afternoon. with a lot of style in a white Rolls Royce.
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