Maikel Franco Has Power That Can Help Your Fantasy Team

Mar 4, 2014; Clearwater, FL, USA; Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco (74) bats in the fourth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Bright House Field. Mandatory Credit: David Manning-USA TODAY Sports

As a baseball and fantasy baseball fan, I love the September call ups. There will be some exciting rookies and top prospects getting their first cup of coffee in the majors this month. Some of these guys can help your fantasy baseball team at a very crucial point in the season. I think one of those guys could be Maikel Franco, who has been called up by the Phillies.

Coming into the year, Maikel Franco was rated as Baseballs 17th best prospect by Baseball America. This was coming off of a 2012 where he hit 31 home runs over 134 A and AA games. He struggled mightily in the first half of his AAA season this year however. In 87 games before the AAA all-star break he hit only six homeruns and a disappointing .230. This dropped him all the way to the 50th ranking on Baseball America’s mid-season list.

Since that two day AAA break however, Franco has been on fire. In the last 46 games he’s hit 10 home runs, is slugging over .500 and hitting over .300. Those are the numbers that we had hoped to see that make him a top 20 prospect in the game and one of the top power bats in the minors.

Franco has a few things to like for a late season Fantasy run:

• He’s a top prospect for his power; power that scouts all seem to believe is legit and has been on display in his last 50 games.
• As I mentioned above, he’s getting the call in the midst of a hot run with the bat.
• Unlike some other prospects that will be called up (see Joc Pederson), The Phillies have nothing to play for and no reason to not give Franco plenty of at bats.
• About half of his games down the stretch will be in that tiny ballpark in Philadelphia, including seven of his next 11 games.

Power is hard to come by on the waiver wire, especially this late in the year.   If you’re looking to boost that power in your head to head matchup, or are within striking distance for a few points in power in your roto league, Franco may be worth a grab for a gamble on the power.