The Dominican Wander Franco debuted in the majors in style.
Franco hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning off Eduardo Rodriguez to tie the Rays at five against the Red Sox Tuesday night at Tropicana Field.
Visibly excited, Franco raised his right arm in victory as he passed through the first and had to leave the dugout to greet the crowd after touring the bases.
The left-field homer, off Rodriguez’s first pitch, left Franco’s bat at 95.5 mph and traveled an estimated 362 feet, according to Statcast.
According to Sarah Langs of MLB.com, at 20 years and 113 days old, Franco is the 8th youngest player to hit a home run in his first game in the majors since at least 1901. Franco is the youngest to do so since Jurickson Profar (19 years, 195 days) in 2012.
Franco also became, according to Baseball-Reference, the youngest player since at least 1901 to hit two extra-base hits, including a home run, scoring at least two runs and hitting at least three scratches in his first game, beating Joey Gallo. (21, 195).
On his next turn, in the bottom of the 7th and against reliever Josh Taylor, Franco continued his dream night with a double down left field with two outs on the board. That connection was 105.3 mph.
And the display was not just with the bat. Covering third base, a position he hadn’t played professionally in until this season, Franco made a solid double play in the top of the 8th. With one out on the board and compatriot Rafael Devers running at second, he took a ground ball from Hunter Renfroe, forced Devers off his running line as he tried to touch it, and then made a sharp and accurate shot to first to end the inning.
Earlier in the evening, and amid all the anticipation on his shoulders, Franco had started his career in the Big Top aggressively swinging hard and fouling Rodriguez’s first two pitches of the night. But if anyone believed that the 20-year-old Dominican prospect was anxious, it was immediately clear that that was not the case.
After those swings as Tampa Bay’s second batter in the bottom of the first inning, the best prospect in all of baseball missed four pitches on the ball, several close to the strike zone, to receive a hard-earned walk on his first trip to dish.
The passport brought Yandy Díaz to second base and paid off soon after when Díaz and Franco scored on an RBI single by fellow Dominican Francisco Mejía to give Tampa Bay an early 2-0 lead.
In his second inning, with the Rays now trailing 5-2 in the bottom of the 3rd inning, Franco again led to three balls and two strikes before missing a long fly ball to center field. The ball left the bat at 96.4 mph and traveled an estimated distance of 370 feet, according to Statcast.
The best prospect in baseball had already made himself felt when he arrived at the stadium in style in a white Rolls Royce.
A few hours later, he would begin to make his mark on the pitch. And how.
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