Nick Franklin

WTM’s PLAYER PROFILE

2009
R:  302/318/419, 43 AB, 2 2B, 1 HR, 1 BB, 6 K
A-:  400/429/600, 20 AB, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 BB, 2 K, 1-1 SB

Franklin signed late and made only a brief appearance between two short-season levels.  He played mostly short.  Baseball America rated him Seattle’s ninth best prospect after the season.

2010
A:  281/351/485, 513 AB, 22 2B, 7 3B, 23 HR, 50 BB, 123 K, 25-35 SB
AA:  667/750/667, 3 AB, 1 BB, 1 K

Seattle sent Franklin to low A, where he mostly played short, although he also saw some time at second.  He showed very good power with passable plate discipline.  BA ranked him third in the Mariners’ system.

2011
R:  091/091/091, 11 AB, 6 K
A+:  275/356/411, 258 AB, 10 2B, 5 3B, 5 HR, 31 BB, 56 K, 13-14 SB
AA:  325/371/482, 83 AB, 3 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 6 BB, 18 K, 5-8 SB

Franklin moved up to the high-offense California League, where he again played mainly short but some at second.  He put up solid numbers, but not all that impressive given the environment.  Seattle promoted him to AA in mid-June, but after a few games he suffered a concussion after being hit by a bat that got loose during practice.  He also lost time to a couple of illnesses, but after returning in mid-August he hit well the rest of the year.  BA rated him fourth among Seattle’s prospects.

2012
AA:  322/394/502, 205 AB, 17 2B, 4 3B, 4 HR, 24 BB, 38 K, 9-11 SB
AAA:  243/310/416, 267 AB, 15 2B, 5 3B, 7 HR, 24 BB, 68 K, 3-5 SB

Splitting his time between AA and AAA, Franklin continued to play short about three-fourths of his time at the lower level, but divided his time evenly between short and second in AAA.  He hit very well in AA and respectably in AAA.  BA rated him Seattle’s fifth-best prospect after the season.

2013
AAA:  324/440/472, 142 AB, 9 2B, 4 HR, 30 BB, 20 K, 7-7 SB
MLB:  225/303/382, 369 AB, 20 2B, 1 3B, 12 HR, 42 BB, 113 K, 6-7 SB

Franklin got off to a hot start in AAA and Seattle called him up in late May.  He spent the rest of the season as their starter at second.  He hit with decent power and put up a .727 OPS batting left-handed, but only .599 batting right-handed.  He struggled as the season wore on, with OPS figures of just .408 and .671 for August and September, respectively.

2014
AAA (Sea):  294/392/455, 279 AB, 16 2B, 1 3B, 9 HR, 47 BB, 60 K, 9-14 SB
AAA (TB):  210/288/290, 100 AB, 2 2B, 2 HR, 10 BB, 34 K, 2-2 SB
MLB (Sea):  128/192/170, 47 AB, 1 3B, 3 BB, 21 K, 1-1 SB
MLB (TB):  206/263/353, 34 AB, 2 2B, 1 HR, 3 BB, 11 K, 1-1 SB

Seattle sent Franklin back to AAA to start the season.  He had only brief stretches with the Mariners in April and May.  He continued to hit well in AAA, but not in his limited time with Seattle.  At the trade deadline, the Mariners sent Franklin to Tampa Bay in a three-team trade.  He spent most of his time after the trade in AAA, where he struggled.  In the field, he split his time between second and short.

2015
AAA:  266/353/500, 192 AB, 10 2B, 1 3B, 11 HR, 27 BB, 48 K, 4-7 SB
MLB:  158/213/307, 101 AB, 4 2B, 1 3B, 3 HR, 7 BB, 37 K, 1-1 SB

Franklin missed April and early May with a strained oblique.  After that, he roughly split his season between AAA and the majors, although he served mainly as a backup in the majors.  He continued to hit well in AAA and struggle in the big leagues, with a very high strikeout rate at the latter level.  He again split his time between second and short at both levels.

2016
A+:  750/750/750, 4 AB
AAA:  254/322/392, 240 AB, 16 2B, 1 3B, 5 HR, 26 BB, 56 K, 10-11 SB
MLB:  270/328/443, 174 AB, 10 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 12 BB, 42 K, 6-7 SB

Franklin spent the first half of the season in AAA, then much of the second half in the majors.  His hitting tailed off in AAA, but in the majors he had more success than in any other season, albeit with weak plate discipline.  He played mostly second in AAA, but with the Rays he played first, second, short and both outfield corners.

2017
AAA (LAA):  273/308/273, 11 AB, 1 BB, 3 K
MLB (Mil):  195/258/317, 82 AB, 2 2B, 1 3B, 2 HR, 5 BB, 19 K, 2-2 SB
MLB (LAA):  125/300/167, 24 AB, 1 2B, 5 BB, 3 K

At the start of the season, the Rays designated Franklin for assignment and the Brewers claimed him.  He stayed with Milwaukee through late June, serving mainly in a pinch-hit, double-switch role, which left him with a limited number of at-bats.  He mostly struggled and the Brewers designated him for assignment, then traded him to the Angels for cash.  He saw only limited action with the Angels, who outrighted him to AAA at the end of July.  His limited time in the field came mainly at second and in left.  He became a free agent after the season.

2018
R:  500/500/875, 8 AB, 1 HR, 1 K
A+:  636/714/1.273, 11 AB, 2 2B, 1 3B, 1 HR, 3 BB, 2 K
AA:  288/394/441, 59 AB, 3 2B, 2 HR, 11 BB, 7 K, 4-5 SB
MLB:  000/000/000, 2 AB

Franklin signed a minor league deal with the Brewers at the start of spring training and they sent him to AA.  They called him up in early May, but the next day he suffered a strained quadriceps.  He missed the rest of the season, apart from a few rehab games.  Milwaukee outrighted him in September and he became a free agent.

The Pirates signed Franklin to a minor league deal for 2019.  They have a number of more promising options for second base and a utility role, like Pablo Reyes and Kevin Kramer, so Franklin may need some luck to reach Pittsburgh.  Despite a non-roster invitation to major league camp, he never saw any action in the exhibitions due to a hamstring problem.  He should open with Indianapolis.