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Nick Franklin... month or two ago we were asked to hit the vid room and weigh in on his projectable power, or lack thereof ...
Interesting question that ... why on draft day 2009 they wrote off his power, and therefore his chances to make much of an impact with the bat ...
An even more interesting question, why this still is the case per some field-level scouts, the dismissal of Franklin's potential to hit 20+ homers, considering he has in fact hit just about that many in a fraction of the 2010 season. Is the kid just to small to hit with authority against the fearsome MLB(TM) fireballers? Mayhaps...
The vid has been consumed, the shtick has been marinating, and don' hesitate with other points of interest that should be addressed...
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Stat du jour dept.: 44% fly balls, only 5% popups against RHP's this season. In July, that was 46% flyballs, 2% popups, and 26% line drives, against all pitchers...
First thing you notice about Franklin, his ability to loft the ball while staying on top of it. This is a Joltin' Joe swing that produces rising line drives on a game-in, game-out basis...
If Joe D was a bit before your time, other ML batters have had Franklin's intersection of swing shape and batted-ball profile: Evan Longoria, Adam LaRoche, Jhonny Peralta, Paul Konerko, Nick Swisher, Jason Kubel, and indeed Adam Dunn.
Russell Branyan takes it to comedic levels. When's the last time you saw Russell pop up on the infield? He hits popups, but they go 425. The man who can loft the ball without skying it ... well, isn't that the reverse of what the pitchers are trying to accomplish?
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Franklin's dirt-dog personality produces an obvious Mariner comp as far as the makeup is concerned: Chris Snelling his ownself. Guess we get a second chance at a Yoda, this one with the ability to stay on the field.
In the 1980's, there was one NBA player (and only one) who negotiated a "love of the game" clause into his contract. It said that he could play basketball any time, anywhere, without asking the Bulls' permission. Bob Costas later commented, "Michael Jordan is what you get when you cross a supremely talented athlete ... with an overachiever."
Franklin is an [overachiever x supreme talent]. If the average ballplayer had half of Nick Franklin's desire...
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Dr. D is charmed by gym rats like Michael Jordan, Chris Snelling and Nick Franklin, but that ain't why we'll be high-five G-Moneyball for (yet another) early-radar catch. Like with Michael Pineda, the industry is wayyyy behind the curve as to how good Nick Franklin is. Pineda was already one of the top 10 prospects in the game when they started acknowledging him as a top-100.
Franklin ain't top-10-in-baseball yet, but he's a lot better than people admit. If a draft were held tomorrow, he could be taken #2 or #3 overall. Quite the infield storm brewing, ain't it?
Stay cool,
Dr D