Spring training stats are pretty meaningless, but at some point a guy is either pitching so well or hitting so well that you can’t help but think it means good things are in the offing. It helps if the player doing the damage is good as it is and is projected to be even better. That’s the case with Maikel Franco of the Phillies, who hit his seventh spring training homer today.
The dinger, a three-run blast, came in a joke of an inning, as the Phillies scored nine runs in the fourth against the Pirates. They’d go on to win 15-12. In addition to Franco’s blast Ryan Howard hit a grand slam and Peter Bourjos and Cameron Rupp each went long as well. Howard drove in five runs.
Here’s Franco’s blast. Imagine how much farther it would’ve gone if, instead of merely showing up on time to training camp, he showed up early.
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