Wander Franco Stats
- Height / Weight
- 5' 10" / 189 lbs.
- Date of Birth (Age)
- 3/1/2001 (22)
- Experience
- 2
- College
- None
Wander Franco Season Stats
Last 10 Games
Wander Franco News
A special prosecutor in the Dominican Republic is investigating a second formal complaint that Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco engaged in a relationship with a minor, which is the latest of three accusations against the 22-year-old, according to sources. The first complaint against Franco was filed on July 17. The third girl has not spoken to authorities and they are still investigating her alleged relationship with Franco. Prosecutors hope to speak with Franco, who is on administrative leave and is unlikely to play again in 2023, in the coming weeks. Major League Baseball often waits until a criminal investigation is finished to discipline players, but fantasy managers that roster Franco in dynasty/keeper leagues should expect some sort of lengthy suspension in 2024 as well.
Major League Baseball has placed Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco on administrative leave as the league and authorities in the Dominican Republic investigate Franco's alleged relationships with underaged girls, according to sources. The Rays had previously placed Franco on the restricted list. The 22-year-old isn't expected to return to the team for the rest of this season while the investigation continues, and he could be facing a lengthy suspension in 2024. If he has played his last game in 2023, he'll finish with a .281/.344/.475 slash line, .819 OPS, 17 home runs, 58 RBI, 30 stolen bases and 65 runs scored in 442 at-bats. Rookie Osleivis Basabe figures to continue seeing the majority of the starts for Tampa at shortstop moving forward.
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Wander Franco is expected to remain sidelined through either an extension of his stay on the restricted list or a shift to administrative leave as Major League Baseball continues its investigation into Franco's alleged relationship with a minor. The 22-year-old was placed on the restricted list by the Rays last week, and it appears likely that he won't play again for at least the rest of the 2023 season. MLB is working with the authorities in the Dominican Republic, and there appears no end in sight to the investigation. For now, fantasy managers can only continue to stash Franco in hopes he'll return in September. In the meantime, Osleivis Basabe continues to start at the 6 for the Rays.
Batting Order
| 1 | Junior Caminero |
| 2 | Josh Lowe |
| 3 | Harold Ramírez |
| 4 | Isaac Paredes |
| 5 | Jonathan Aranda |
| 6 | Curtis Mead |
| 7 | Manuel Margot |
| 8 | Raimel Tapia |
| 9 | René Pinto |
Wander Franco Stats
Last 10 Games
Batting Order
| 1 | Junior Caminero |
| 2 | Josh Lowe |
| 3 | Harold Ramírez |
| 4 | Isaac Paredes |
| 5 | Jonathan Aranda |
| 6 | Curtis Mead |
| 7 | Manuel Margot |
| 8 | Raimel Tapia |
| 9 | René Pinto |
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.
