Maikel Franco won't stop in bid to win Phillies 3B job

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Maikel Franco could be excused if he wanted to take a break.

The highly regarded Philadelphia Phillies prospect, one of the key players for the Gigantes del Cibao club that won the Dominican winter league title, played in 149 games between the majors and minors last season, then another 60 in his native country, including the postseason.

With spring training looming, it would be logical for Franco to take some time off in anticipation of what could be his big opportunity.

But Franco also realized the Caribbean Series – a tournament that features the champions of four winter leagues, plus Cuba – also provided a chance to further polish his game. Plus, his team needed him.

Franco, 22, hit two homers and drove in seven runs in the clinching game that sent the Gigantes to their first Caribbean Series, where they debuted Tuesday with a 6-1 victory over Cuba, now 0-2. Franco, the Dominicans' starting third baseman and third-place hitter, went 1-for-5.

"Maikel is very talented, but what has caught my attention is his maturity, the desire he has to be a better player every day,'' Gigantes manager Audo Vicente said. "He's willing to listen even though he's already made it to the big leagues. He's always looking for those little tips that may help him get established in the majors.''

He picked up a few during his September call-up last season, when Franco got to spend time around veterans like Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley and Ryan Howard. Franco's power, fielding skills and strong arm had made him the Phillies' top position-player prospect, and he justified that status when he overcame a slow start to hit .257 with 16 homers and 78 RBI for Class AAA Lehigh Valley (Allentown, Pa.) as a 21-year-old.

That earned him the late-season look-see days after turning 22, and Franco soon realized how big a leap he was making. In 56 at-bats over 16 games, he batted .179 and had just two extra-base hits, both doubles.

The comeuppance did not discourage him.

"I wasn't down about it because that's baseball,'' Franco said in Spanish. "You are going to have good moments and bad. That might not have been my best moment, but it's now in the past and I'm going to focus on doing better.''

That focus paid off in the Dominican winter league, where Franco batted .272 with seven homers, 29 RBI and an .805 OPS in 38 games. Then he raised his game in the postseason, batting .337 with four homers and 16 RBI in 22 games.

While Franco is an aggressive hitter who doesn't walk much, he has never struck out more than 81 times in the minors, and his rate of one whiff per every 6.86 plate appearances last season showed his ability to make contact.

What Vicente really liked this winter was seeing Franco go the other way.

"He's a power hitter who can pull the ball, but this year he made a very good adjustment and started hitting toward right-center with power, even hitting a couple of home runs in that part of the park,'' Vicente said. "He's also battling when he has two strikes on. We saw a guy who can hit the ball out of the park, but with a relatively low number of strikeouts considering his strength.''

The Phillies have been impressed enough to ask incumbent third baseman Cody Asche to learn how to play left field. CSNPhilly.com reported Asche is already at the club's spring training camp in Clearwater, Fla., taking fly balls in the outfield.

That hardly means Franco is a sure bet to earn the third-base job out of spring training, but it's a clear indication the club believes he's not far away.

"We view him as our opening day third baseman,'' general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. told CSNPhilly.com about Asche. "But we have introduced him to some outfield. He's doing some light drills out there, getting acclimated to outfield drills, rudimentary stuff."

Vicente believes Franco has the potential to hit 20-30 homers a season in the majors, but the young slugger demurs when asked about whether he wants to be known as a power hitter, saying he'd rather be a complete player.

To that end, he sticks to a routine that includes arriving early at the ballpark, taking grounders, hitting in the cage, taking batting practice and getting mentally ready for the game.

"They (the Phillies) told me to work on everything, and not to forget that when I do my routine, things turn out well for me,'' Franco said. "I'm ready to give it my all in spring training so things go well for me.''