Maikel Franco is heading into a crucial season in 2018. (Frank Klose/SportsTalkPhilly)
By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
A year ago, new Philadelphia Phillies hitting coach Matt Stairs compared third baseman Maikel Franco to his former teammate Miguel Tejada, suggesting that once things clicked with Franco, he had a chance to compete for the MVP award. Stairs, in what turned out to be his lone year as the team's hitting coach, helped a lot of the Phillies young talents – most notably Aaron Altherr – progress as hitters. Franco, at least in terms of on-field production, wasn't one of those players.
After what former manager Pete Mackanin suggested was a disappointing 2016 season by his standards, Franco's 2017 season was disappointing by the standards of any major leaguer. Franco, who received 575 at-bats in 2017, slashed .230/.281/.409 with a .292 wOBA and 76 wRC+. To get even in the ballpark of 575 at-bats in 2018, and beyond, Franco knows he's going to have to have a significantly better season than he did a year ago.
“I put it in my mind that I needed to be better and I worked hard in the offseason," Franco told Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. "I know I need to be more consistent. I expect more than I did last year. More walks, more RBIs, more on-base percentage, more home runs. I have to be more selective. Everything. Calm down and don’t get too aggressive. Don’t overswing. Put the ball in play.”
A new, more progressive coaching staff is likely to ask Franco, still just 25, to attempt to make a few different adjustments at the plate. The first will be being more patient against breaking pitches. As Brooks Baseball notes, Franco was aggressive against breaking pitches in 2017, which led to him posting an "above-average" swing-and-miss ratio when facing such pitches. The second major adjustment that Franco needs to make is to attempt to put the ball in the air more frequently, as SportsTalkPhilly.com's Jason Ferrie noted last May. In 220 of his 575 at-bats last season, Franco put the ball on the ground. He hit .164 with (obviously) zero home runs and just 13 RBIs when putting the ball on the ground. It doesn't take a genius to realize that Franco, a power hitter with below-average speed, isn't going to fare well if he puts the ball on the ground nearly 40 percent of the times that he reaches the plate.
Controlling the strike zone has become a popular phrase around the Phillies over the last year, but it's something that Franco needs to do much better in 2018. He alluded to a need to be more patient, which obviously will have a direct impact on the amount of walks he draws and his on-base percentage. 43 walks and an on-base percentage well below .300 aren't going to cut it. Franco is always going to run into home runs because he has elite natural power. But to achieve his high upside offensively, he needs to put himself in more hitter-friendly counts.
Much has been made of Baltimore Orioles Manny Machado's impending free-agency next offseason. Though he's one of the greatest fielding third baseman that the game has ever seen, Machado will be moving back to his natural position of shortstop for the 2018 season, and probably for the foreseeable future. Regardless of what position he plays, there's virtually nothing Franco could do to dissuade the Phillies from making a run at Machado, who has Hall of Fame caliber talent. In the event that the Phillies do land Machado, either he would replace Franco at third, or he would push J.P. Crawford to third base. Both scenarios would likely end Franco's tenure in Philadelphia.
Franco can't be concerned about where things will stand a year from now. So much can change between now and then. The Phillies landing Machado, of course, isn't a given. Neither is Crawford impressing in his first full season at the major league level. He can only worry about what he can control.
As soon as this summer, Franco could have to fend off one of Scott Kingery or Cesar Hernandez for playing time, as the two second baseman both figure to be with the Phillies this summer. It would behoove Franco to get off to a hot start in 2018, making it more difficult for manager Gabe Kapler to take him out of the lineup when Kingery is eventually promoted to the major league level.
After what he called "an amazing offseason," Franco says that regardless of any competition potentially on his radar, he expects to put forward a strong campaign in 2018.
“I’m confident that I am going to have a good season,” Franco said of his outlook on the 2018 season to Salisbury.
