Major League Baseball No. 1 prospect Wander Franco will be promoted by the Rays this week, the team announced Sunday night. He will join the big club on Tuesday.
Franco has been shining with the stick at Triple-A Durham, where he recently had a 14-game hitting string. He has 35 RBIs in 38 games for the Bulls and is hitting .323 on the season.
Tampa Bay sent Drew Rasmussen to Triple-A Durham to make room for Franco on the roster.
Franco is barely 20 years old, but it seems that this moment was long awaited. That says a lot about Franco’s talent, all the anticipation for his arrival and the legend that seems to grow every time “El Patron” swings in the minor leagues.
Carlos Rodríguez and Daniel Santana, scouts for the Rays, signed Franco, a Baní native, for $ 3.825 million on July 2, 2017. He was the second-best international prospect at the time, behind only Shohei Ohtani. The way he has progressed since then is indicative of Franco’s talent, a path that has inevitably quickly led him to the big leagues.
A shortstop throughout his career, Franco began to move through the infield over the past year in preparation for this moment. Tampa Bay is full of options like Ji-Man Choi and Yandy Diaz in the corners, second Brandon Lowe, utility Joey Wendle and shortstop Taylor Walls. Knowing that by increasing his versatility he could find more playing time, Franco began working at second and third base at Spring Training and with Triple-A Durham.
The Rays began making room for Franco’s eventual arrival on May 21 when they traded fellow Dominican Willy Adames to the Brewers. But Tampa Bay remained patient with Franco, preferring not to rush his promotion to the majors before he got comfortable at Triple-A. The Rays called Walls first, another prominent midfield prospect.
Now, it was Franco’s turn.
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