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Tuesday, June 25th, 2013

Nick Franklin’s 140 wRC+ is second among MLB second basemen with at least 100 plate appearances.

Sam Evans (Baseball Writer and Marlins, Mariners Correspondent): Follow @RJA206

Lost among the outstanding debuts MLB rookies like Yasiel Puig and Gerrit Cole has been the terrific play of the Mariners new second baseman Nick Franklin. Franklin has hit for power, played nearly flawless defense, and he’s demonstrated

his fantastic plate discipline. However, most of the baseball world has seemingly looked past what Franklin has done for the Mariners. It’s been quite a while since a shortstop comparable to Franklin has been promoted to the Majors and excelled right away.

Here’s a glance at what Franklin has done for the Mariners, what kind of a player he’ll be in the future, and what role he plays in the Mariners future.

Nick Franklin Prospect Video

In the 2009 MLB Amateur Draft, Nick Franklin was drafted by Seattle just four picks after Mike Trout went to Anaheim at #25.

Even though it feels like only yesterday he was promoted, Nick Franklin does already have over 100 plate appearances. In those 100 at bat’s, Franklin has hit .283/.359/.489 with 4 HR and 3 SB.

If you project those numbers over a full season where Franklin would get 600 at bat’s, he would have 21 HR and 18 or so stolen bases.

For a twenty-two year old rookie shortstop to be on pace for a 20-20 season is impressive no matter how you look at it.

Out of Franklin’s four home runs, he has hit one to left field, one to center, one to right-center, and one down the right field line. A young shortstop with power to all fields is a very rare commodity.

If Franklin can continue to demonstrate this ability to hit it out to any part of the park, he has a chance to become one of the top power hitting second basemen in the American League. Franklin doesn’t only help his team with the long ball, and has also been able to come up with the occasional clutch hit.

A few days ago, in the 8^th inning of a 5-5 game against Oakland, he lined a two-run game-winning single into right field. For a Mariners team that has seemingly lacked the players that shine in moments like that, Franklin is sure to be a huge help.

Nick Franklin didn’t have the prototypical rise of a first-round pick. At times, he looked like the kind of prospect that would turn into the type of player he has been in the Majors so far. However, there have also been stretches where he looked more like a second-division starter rather than an All-Star. 

Who knows what kind of player the 22 Year Old from Sanford FL will be in the future? It’s improbable that he could keep his current state for the rest of his rookie season, but there’s also a chance he could get even better and improve upon what he’s been so far.

Speaking in terms of a long-term projection, it is probably fairly reasonable to project Franklin to be around a .280-.290 hitter with slightly above-average power and Gold Glove defense at second base.

Nick Franklin, not Dustin Ackley, is the Mariners future second baseman. Yes, Ackley was the #2 overall pick in the 2009 Draft and he’s currently hitting .366/.467/.495 in Triple-A, but Franklin is a far superior defender at second and the Mariners are trying Ackley out in the outfield.

Even though it is far too early to tell how long this relationship will last, Franklin has definitely earned himself the role of being the Mariner second baseman of the future. If Ackley were to somehow earn his job back as the M’s starting second baseman, Seattle would probably happily move Franklin over to shortstop. Anyway you look at it, Nick Franklin is going to be a big part of the future of the Seattle Mariners.

The Mariners have been trying out Dustin Ackley in the outfield at Triple-A Tacoma after Franklin took his role as the M’s starting second baseman.

*** The views and opinions expressed in this report are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of mlbreports.com and their partners***

A big thank-you goes out to our ‘Marlins and Mariners Correspondent’ Sam Evans for preparing today’s featured article. Sam is a high school student from the greater Seattle area.  He is a longtime Mariners fan, and has been an off-and-on season ticket holder for the last five years.

Sam enjoys interacting with readers and using statistical analysis to dig beneath the surface to find the truth in baseball.  Sam was our 2nd Intern who has graduated to the position of  Baseball Writer. For all of Sam’s archived articles – click here. You can follow Sam on Twitter: Sam Also writes for the Marlins website Fish Stripes.Follow @RJA206

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