He hit a rough spot in June but is pounding the ball again in July (.900+ OPS). He's just a killer - and that's before he smooths out his difficulties against lefties.
Our assumption here has always been that Nick slipped because people judged him as a baseball player with "limited athletic skills" instead of underdeveloped athleticism. Never lifting weights until his senior year might make a baseball rat seem like a low-upside pick. I'm really glad we didn't make that mistake.
Nick thus far doesn't like to walk much (though he's gotten far better early in the 2nd half) and hasn't perfected both sides of his swing. He's got years to learn to do both. When Ackley gets promoted I'd probably consider him the best hitting prospect in our system. Hopefully he can keep growing by leaps and bounds - but he's already got the makings of a terrific ballplayer.
We're thankful the other scouts missed it. We needed Franklin.
Assuming you're his HS coach, thanks for delivering him. ;)
~G