No. 1 prospect Franco adds slam to hot start

May 15th, 2021

Wander Franco, baseball's No. 1 overall prospect, continued his strong start to the Minor League season, crushing a grand slam Saturday in the second inning of Triple-A Durham's game against Jacksonville.

With the bases loaded and two outs, the Rays prospect teed off on a 2-1 pitch from Jumbo Shrimps right-hander Alexander Guillen. It was Franco's third homer in 10 games this season, but his first at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

The 20-year-old phenom began the night with five multi-hit efforts in his first nine games this year. He entered Saturday hitting .314/.390/.600 with six RBIs and seven runs scored.

Franco slashed .327/.398/.487 with nine homers and 18 stolen bases over 114 games with Class A Bowling Green and Class A Advanced Charlotte in 2019, his last Minor League action due to the 2020 shutdown.