Wander Franco Stats
- Height / Weight
- 5' 10" / 189 lbs.
- Date of Birth (Age)
- 3/1/2001 (22)
- Experience
- 0
- College
- None
Wander Franco Season Stats
Last 10 Games
Wander Franco News
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco (quadriceps) said his right quad issue was more tightness than a strain, and it has responded well to treatment. "I feel good, thank God, and I'm ready to start on Thursday," Franco said. He was able to take swings in the batting cages on Monday after his MRI exam on Sunday didn't show anything serious. Barring a setback, the 22-year-old should be starting at shortstop on Opening Day on Thursday against the Detroit Tigers. When healthy, he should be in starting lineups in season-long fantasy leagues every day. Franco played in only 83 games in his second MLB season in 2022, slashing .277/.328/.417 with a .746 OPS, six home runs, 33 RBI, 46 runs and eight stolen bases in 344 plate appearances.
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco (quad) underwent an MRI exam on Sunday to find out the severity of his injury. The team announced that the results were favorable and Franco could be healthy enough to play on Opening Day. That is good news after Franco was forced to exit early on Saturday due to a right quad issue. It appears the switch-hitting infielder has avoided serious injury. He might not be ready for Opening Day, but Franco shouldn't need a stint on the injured list. Fantasy managers should check back for another update later in the week.
The Tampa Bay Rays expect to know more later on Sunday about the status of shortstop Wander Franco (quadriceps) after he undergoes an MRI exam. Franco was scratched from Saturday's Grapefruit League game due to soreness in his right quad, but it may have just been a precautionary measure by the team with Opening Day right around the corner. Fantasy managers are patiently holding their breath hoping that the MRI exam doesn't show anything significant that would cause the 22-year-old to begin the 2023 regular season on the injured list. If for any reason Franco is forced to miss time to open the year, Taylor Walls would see the majority of playing time at the 6 for Tampa. Check back later for an update on Franco.
Batting Order
| 1 | Yandy Díaz |
| 2 | Wander Franco |
| 3 | Isaac Paredes |
| 4 | Randy Arozarena |
| 5 | Harold Ramírez |
| 6 | Manuel Margot |
| 7 | Brandon Lowe |
| 8 | Christian Bethancourt |
| 9 | Jose Siri |
Wander Franco Stats
Last 10 Games
Batting Order
| 1 | Yandy Díaz |
| 2 | Wander Franco |
| 3 | Isaac Paredes |
| 4 | Randy Arozarena |
| 5 | Harold Ramírez |
| 6 | Manuel Margot |
| 7 | Brandon Lowe |
| 8 | Christian Bethancourt |
| 9 | Jose Siri |
The hype train has come to a near halt with Franco after another disappointing season in 2022 where he played just 83 games, hitting .277/.328/.417 with just six homers and eight steals. That brings his Major League career line to .282/.337/.439 with 13 homers and 10 steals in 153 games. Over the course of one full season, he's been very much underwhelming for fantasy purposes. Underneath the hood, we see a barrel rate below 5% in his last two seasons. He doesn't hit a ton of ground balls (45%) and is not a David Fletcher type guy barely impacting the ball (88 mph average exit velocity), but he has fallen well short of "good" in both of these categories in his short time in the Majors thus far. What does all of this mean for 2023? The ceiling probably hasn't been affected all that much from the lofty heights we had it prior to his arrival, but the floor is certainly much lower than we thought back then - and we have the injury problem as well now. Even if we get a full healthy season out of Franco, there's no reason to be overly confident that he'll be useful for fantasy. It seems wise to take a "wait and see" approach with Franco in 2023 given his top-100 ADP.
