Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco left Tuesday night’s game against the Arizona Diamondbacks with a wrist injury. 

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Franco Has a Wrist Contusion

Tuesday, August 11

Franco left Tuesday night’s game against the Diamondbacks in the top of the first inning after being hit on the left wrist by a pitch from Arizona’s Jeremy Hellickson. 

MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki watched as Franco went down:

Shortly after his exit, CSNPhilly.com’s Jim Salisbury reported that X-rays on Franco came back negative and he was diagnosed with a left wrist contusion. There is no timetable for Franco’s return. 

In his rookie season, Franco has been one of the bright spots for a Phillies team that is on pace to have its worst season since 1972. Entering Tuesday night, the Phillies are 46-68 with a .398 winning percentage. That 1972 team had a .378 mark after going 59-97. 

Franco has shown he can thrive with a struggling team, as he ranks second among all Phillies with 13 home runs and 48 RBI, trailing only first baseman Ryan Howard. 

Zolecki even went as far on Monday to say that Franco is playing himself into contention for the National League Rookie of the Year award:

Franco is not getting the attention of NL rookies like Matt DuffyJoc Pederson and Kris Bryant, but he is worthy of comparisons…Franco would have the highest OPS (.828) and slugging percentage (.490) among NL rookies, if he qualified. He also entered Monday second in doubles (21), fourth in home runs (12), third in RBIs (47) and tied for fourth in walks (25) and extra-base hits (34).

Andres Blanco replaced Franco on Tuesday night and will most likely be the starting third baseman while Philadelphia’s developing star recovers. Despite being a utility infielder, Blanco has shown he is capable of finding his way on base, sporting a .289 average with a .361 on-base percentage that is best on the team. 

 

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com 

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