Today Baseball America named Maikel Franco the #4 prospect in the International League. He comes in behind Gregory Polanco, Mookie Betts, and Francisco Lindor. For those that thought Franco would build on a breakout 2013 and rocket to the majors 2014 will be viewed as a disappointment. Instead AAA proved to be a steep learning curve for Franco as he struggled with plate discipline and pitch recognition which lead to a steep drop in quality contact over the first half. Over the second half of the year he channelled his aggressive approach better and put up big power numbers over the second half. He also improved defensively where he has gone from statue to just slow, his arm strength and soft hands make up for the range issues, at least for now. Overall the timeline is longer (I expect another adjustment period in the majors), but Franco is a better baseball player than he was a year ago, he is still super risky, but he is very young and still learning.
Previously:
Aaron Brown #18 in NYPL
J.P. Crawford #2 in SAL
Jesmuel Valentin #12 in MWL
J.P. Crawford #2 in FSL