Welcome to the Show, Nick Franklin
The rumors began last night, but it wasn’t until this morning when the players arrived at the stadium that the beat writers could confirm them. Dustin Ackley’s been sent down, and in his place is Nick Franklin. There are other moves as well, including the recall of Hector Noesi, but the story of the day is the promotion of the 22-year old middle infielder, who was hitting .324/.440/.472 in AAA. Ackley’s season line had dipped to .204/.266/.250, and his career line is now down to .237/.307/.344. People may point to his solid fielding stats and positive WAR numbers to show that he was still adding value, but the downward trajectory of his offensive stats and the questionable reliability of his fielding numbers make this move a good one.
Franklin’s had a remarkable year. I saw him several times last season, and while he’d flash some good tools, it was clear he wasn’t ready for the next step due to below-average contact skills. In his first month in AAA, he struck out in over 30% of his plate appearances. While he cut back on his Ks substantially during the season, contact had always been Franklin’s weakest tool. His best is probably his work ethic though, and putting in extra hours in the cage seems to have paid off. In 2013, he’s walked more than he’s K’d, and his K% is below 12%.
He’s likely to struggle a bit against left-handed pitching initially, but the timing works here. He can stick at 2B and not worry about improving his range at SS on the big stage. He appeared to be something of a slow starter at AAA, so it’s unlikely he’ll make an immediate splash, but I think his new-and-improved eye might help him add some value initially. Good luck.
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20 Responses to “Welcome to the Show, Nick Franklin”
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Amen, to the Welcome! In the past, Jack Z. said, “… the players weren’t on a scholarship.” With the Montero and Ackley moves, Jack Z., and Eric Wedge, must be starting to feel the, ‘hot seat,’ Howard Lincoln used to phoney threaten his staff with. Its a shame Smoak got hurt when he was just starting to play like a MLB First-Baseman. I hope the back end of the M’s rotation gets the same scrutiny the position players are finally receiving.
Any chance Ackley gets moved to the outfield with Franklin being used at second and Brad Miller being talked about as the future SS? No matter what, I just hope Dustin regains his hitting stroke down in Tacoma along with Montero. I just hope Franklin’s growth isn’t stunted by this call up.
Interesting. Hopefully fans will be patient with Fanklin and give him time to adjust; but I suspect Ackley’s long struggles will mean people’s patience is already gone, and we’ll be reading comments complaining about Franklin within a week.
(Hopefully I’ll remember I said this and won’t be one of the early complainers!)
Good to see the team start to make some moves. I get that they need to stick with guys as they try to overcome unproductive periods but these moves are still a week or two late. Now it’s on Montero and Ackley to earn their way back. That’s a good thing.
Jesus Tap-Dancing Christ, the “Ackley to OF” thing made little sense when he was hitting well – why would it make any more sense now? The kid was a gold glove finalist at 2B last year and has the potential for 15 HR/lots of doubles gap power that works well for a second baseman but wouldn’t be replacement level as far as OF go. Can we track down whoever started this idea?
Yea, Ackley has the been opposite of our expectations — good glove, wretched bat.
Looking forward to Franklin! We’re rooting for ya, Nick!
With the Montero and Ackley moves, Jack Z., and Eric Wedge, must be starting to feel the, ‘hot seat,’ Howard Lincoln used to phoney threaten his staff with.
I continue to be baffled by the confidence with which people believe they’re able to detect the invisible hand of Howard Lincoln (and/or Armstrong) in certain moves, with no evidence whatsoever. It’s utterly inconceivable to you that Zduriencik might have decided these moves were necessary because of performance? Really?
Franklin reminds me of the same situation with Seager — good player, but not super-high expectations. A lot of people think he can be a solid player, not spectacular but not a negative in any one facet of the game.
He may not pan out, but it sure seems like a good situation for him to step into.
Marc, what do you mean about this?
Jesus Tap-Dancing Christ, the “Ackley to OF” thing made little sense when he was hitting well – why would it make any more sense now?
Amen. It’s not like we’re dying to get Ackley’s bat in the lineup.
If Miller and Franklin both turn out to be the real deal AND Ackley remembers how to hit major league pitching. Then we can start to think about what to do with three guys, two positions. Trading Franklin would be the likely move. Sticking your good hitting 2B at 1B/LF/DH is classic losing baseball.
Oh, great. Now we KNOW the Mariners are going to do it.
scraps,
I just mean that there is much more uncertainty in his fielding stats. This is why you always hear that UZR, just as an example, needs 3 years to stabilize or become meaningful.
I’m not against adding fielding stats into WAR – if you’re going to count everything, count everything – but we should remember that the estimates of fielding runs are much, much less reliable than the offensive runs, even over a full season.
Like Rod Carew?
Just saying.
Marc: Ah, okay. Not Ackley especially, but everybody.
Right, not Ackley specifically.
re moving a good hitting second baseman to LF/1B/DH: I agree that it’s generally a not good idea. But second base is more injury-prone. Perhaps really good hitters are served better by getting them out of second base. (Not saying that’s a good strategy for Ackley.)
As luck (bad) would have it, we are not dealing with a “good hitting 2B” situation. Ackley has been awful and earned the demotion. Hopefully he rekindles the confidence he once had and can again be productive. Coming back with a major league body would not hurt either. In person he looks a bit frail. And 190 … My ass.
(Though Adam was disagreeing with moving Franklin.)
Like Rod Carew?
Just saying.
Too be fair, Carew was a crummy fielding second baseman, but a HOF hitter and baserunner. I was kind of surpised he moved all the way down the spectrum to first when it happened, but I guess it made sense.
And this comment officially classifies me as a geezer.
You kids get off my lawn!
Another player who shifted down the spectrum, Robin Yount was a HOF shortstop, but was shifted to became a Major League average center fielder. But that move was triggered by an injury.