CLEARWATER - Rays fans in Pinellas County got their first live look at baseball’s top prospect when Wander Franco and the Charlotte Stone Crabs visited the Clearwater Threshers on Thursday night.
Franco, the No. 1 prospect in baseball according to MLB Pipeline and FanGraphs, is an 18-year-old playing in a league where the average player is nearly 23. Since his promotion from class-A Bowling Green on June 25, the Rays shortstop phenom is hitting .354 with nine extra-base hits over 24 games in the advanced class-A Florida State League.
On Thursday night at Spectrum Field, Franco showed off his range on the infield and his eye at the plate.