Author Topic: Nats reach deal with Dominican Franco  (Read 1141 times)

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Offline daggerrrrrr

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Nats reach deal with Dominican Franco
« Topic Start: August 15, 2013, 05:38:43 PM »

Anderson Franco (second from left) turned 16 Thursday.

The Nationals have come to an agreement with international free agent Anderson Franco, an athletic 16-year-old who projects as a powerful right-handed hitter with a strong arm from third base. According to a baseball source, the deal is worth $900,000. Franco, a native of the Dominican Republic, was ranked No. 16 on MLB.com's international prospects list and was the highest-ranked player still available. Thursday marked Franco's 16th birthday, the milestone that allows a team to sign him. Franco is 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds. He's the first top-30 international prospect the Nationals have signed this year.

http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20130815&content_id=57085052&notebook_id=57084110&vkey=notebook_was&c_id=was

Looks like an pretty good signing to me. Nice to see the Nats making moves in the International market.

Offline sportsfan882

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Re: Nats reach deal with Dominican Franco
« Reply #1: August 15, 2013, 05:41:58 PM »
Looks good to me. :clap:

He's definitely got good size and looks very athletic watching the youtube video of him. These are the type of signings that we have not been making for years now. Good stuff.

Offline sportsfan882

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Re: Nats reach deal with Dominican Franco
« Reply #2: August 15, 2013, 05:44:31 PM »
From MLB.com:

Quote
Scouting Grades* (present/future): Hit: 3/5 | Power: 4/5 | Run: 2/3 | Arm: 5/6 | Field: 4/5
Franco is one of the youngest players in this year's class and won't be able to sign until he turns 16 in August, but that has not stopped scouts from raving about his potential.

A physically mature third baseman with soft hands and an accurate plus-arm, Franco is a solid defender with good footwork around the bag. Offensively, Franco shows good bat speed and the ability to hit to all fields. He has displayed large power during batting practice, and it sometimes shows up in games.

There is some concern about his ability to recognize pitches and that has swing can get long at times, but some scouts believe Franco is a sleeper and has the potential to be the top player out of this year's crop of prospects. Scouts also like his baseball IQ, his makeup and the notion that he's only going to get better as he grows older.

Offline Smithian

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Re: Nats reach deal with Dominican Franco
« Reply #3: August 16, 2013, 11:01:18 AM »
He's 16 and there are actually scouts worried about his ability to recognize pitches and his swing?

He's 16!

Offline Tokeydog

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Re: Nats reach deal with Dominican Franco
« Reply #4: August 16, 2013, 11:03:25 AM »
Looks 25.

Offline GburgNatsFan

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Re: Nats reach deal with Dominican Franco
« Reply #5: August 16, 2013, 01:33:03 PM »
If he's really 16, I'd be shocked.