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October 12, 2012

Prospect Profile

Maikel Franco

by Hudson Belinsky

Watching players throughout the season, I tend to develop prospect crushes. It started with Jesus Montero in 2009, and then continued with him in 2010. In 2011 it was Domingo Santana, who had huge five o’clock power and fit the classic right field profile. This past season, I had several reasons to plant myself behind home plate in Lakewood. Maikel Franco might have been the most fun of those reasons.

Franco probably won’t appear on many lists of top prospects this winter, but I loved what he showed me throughout his season. Early in 2012 he was a raw baseball player who was a bit overexposed in a full-season league. Later in 2012, he looked more like an impact prospect.

My first look at Lakewood came in late April. I was in town to get a few looks at the Greenville Drive, the Red Sox Low-A affiliate. I was going to see a talented trio of starting pitching prospects (Jason Garcia, Matt Barnes, and Henry Owens) along with a pair of former first-round picks in Garin Cecchini and Blake Swihart. I arrived early for batting practice and saw an athletic group of Phillies prospects spraying balls all over the field. Aaron Altherr and Brian Pointer were easy to like. Maikel Franco was even easier to like. He barreled the ball all over the field, smashing several home runs to the pull side and driving balls off the wall to the opposite field. The raw power was excit