Rays' Wander Franco: Opening at Triple-A
Franco will open the season with Triple-A Durham, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
The 20-year-old phenom has yet to play above High-A and only spent 52 games at that level in 2019, but it's no surprise that the Rays see him as a Triple-A player following a year of development at the team's alternate training site. It would be no surprise if Franco dominates Triple-A pitching, as he has one of the best hit tools for a prospect in recent memory, as evidenced by his .336/.405/.523 slash line and 7.0 percent strikeout rate in 175 career minor-league games. The Rays have yet to offer much clarity on when he's expected to make his big-league debut, but his assignment to the highest level of the minors indicates they don't think he's far off.
