Nick was viewed as a signability pick. Jack said right off the bat that he drafted the guy he thought was best at the slot. Jack doesn't seem like he's blowing smoke now, not in any way.
Franklin wasn't as flashy as some of the other guys. He's a baseball player first, not an athlete. When scouts are picking guys with the most upside, it's always - ALWAYS - the guy who could be the next Ken Griffey or A-Rod...if only he can hit a slider and not strike out every other AB (which is normally what he's doing at the time).
Franklin came the other way, as a guy who had never worked out and just played baseball literally 12 months a year. And rather than trying to make an athlete into a baseball player, Jack hired a doctor who promised to turn his baseball players into athletes (legally).
So the guys you would want to watch are your baseball players - the Seagers and Franklins (and even the less-than-shapely Poythresses) of the world. Get them to harness their dormant physical tools to the best of their ability and incorporate them into what they already do well - hit a baseball.
Nick Franklin, IMO, was THE perfect pick for the way Jack is shaping up his minor leagues. Jiovanni Mier (drafted ahead of Nick and considered the clearly superior player) is a terrific talent, but Franklin is not lagging behind him in baseball talent, and has been catching him in athletic prowess.
Spotting these sorts of players - guys that his exclusive workout and performance training regimen can boost up - is something that Jack is gonna be making his bones with over the next several years. If they don't pan out, or the program is a bust, it's not gonna look good.
But right now Nick Franklin is making this plan look like a winner.
BTW, interview with Franklin here:
http://www.baseballamerica.com/today/prospects/prospect-q-and-a/2010/261...
~G
Add new comment
1