The Phillies are old. Too old to get the job done right. Guys like Rollins, Utley, Howard and Lee are veterans, two of the four with at least one Most Valuable Player award and Lee with a Cy Young award. Luckily, a small wave of young talent is in the process of moving in. With a home run in the very first game of the season (the first game of his first WHOLE season as well), Cody Asche is looking like a promising third-baseman of the future. The thing is, there's this kid who happens to be a top 50 prospect and an up-and-coming third baseman in the Phillies' system. His name is Maikel Franco. At the ripe, young age of 20, he has a bright future ahead of him. Last season was his best, finishing with a .339 batting average and a .926 On base + Slugging % (OBS). At six-foot-one, he was solid from a defensive standpoint last season as well. He had 9 errors in 59 games played last season thus adding up to a .947 fielding percentage. A good fielding percentage is key for the Phils at this point. IN the next three seasons, I can see Franco playing First once in a good while and mostly Second while Asche holds down the fort at Third. And with 31 homers in 547 at-bats, he could end up with a job in Philly later this year, especially since the Phillies are pretty much several years away from play-off contention.
I'll be paying close attention to Franco and will periodically be posting about him!