March 20, 2021

Tampa Bay Rays shortstop prospect Wander Franco is a long shot to start the season on the Big League roster, but he'll be a popular name in fantasy circles this draft season as the baseball world waits for his inevitable call-up. The 20-year-old wunderkind tore the cover off the ball across two seasons in the Minors, en route to a .336/.405/.523 career slash line. Unfortunately, Franco hasn't played above Class-A Advanced and it's anyone's guess how Tampa plans on handling their top-prospect after his development was interrupted. What we do know is Franco can hit. His 80-grade hit-tool is not a ranking scouts give out often and he boasts elite plate discipline with 81 walks against just 54 strikeouts in two years of professional ball. As of January, his average draft position sits near 250th overall. That would be an incredible value for a player with his upside. Watch Franco in Spring Training, though, as his ADP could skyrocket if he has a big March. However, Franco was re-assigned to minor league camp on March 15, almost guaranteeing that we won't see him in the big leagues until May at the earliest. Also, Tampa Bay is notorious for manipulating playing time for MLB players in a bid to keep their arbitration costs down. Let someone else take the gamble on Wander in redraft.--Mike Schwarzenbach - RotoBaller