Rays’ ‘absolute superstar’ Wander Franco makes it look easy

CHICAGO — How have your last two weeks on the job gone?

Here’s how Wander Franco, the Rays’ 21-year-old sophomore star, has done in his:

Through Wednesday, he was tied for the major-league lead with 20 hits, seven multi-hit games, four three-hit games and seven doubles.

He has made 53 trips to the plate and struck out just four times.

He is hitting the ball harder (with an average exit velocity of 90.8 mph), squaring it up better and lacing more line drives than during his 70-game rookie season.

He has kept the analytical and advanced stats computers whirling, ranking among the majors’ best with an OPS+ (which adjusts and contexts on-base plus slugging percentages for ballpark and league factors, using 100 as the league average) of 211, and an xBA (a StatCast metric called expected batting average that estimates the likelihood of a batted ball becoming a hit) of .414.

He is among the top 10 in other more standard categories such as WAR (1.0), batting average (.392), total bases (32) and extra-base hits (9).

“Yeah, and you can keep going,” Rays hitting coach Chad Mottola said as the Rays wrapped up a six-game stay in chilly Chicago. “You can keep going. It’s one of those things that — you throw in the weather, and to be able to do what he’s doing in this weather — it’s just amazing.”

Ask the Rays’ clubhouse about Franco’s performance thus far, and two themes become clear:

One, his bosses and teammates see no limit to what he can do.

“He’s a superstar,” said outfielder Brett Phillips. “An absolute superstar.

“We got to see a preview of that last year when he went 40-something (43) straight games getting on base. And then it’s really cool to see him come back this year with this mentality of ‘I’m going to be better.’”

Two, his teammates won’t be shocked by anything Franco does, including his flair for the big moment, such as coming back with a three-hit game Tuesday after sitting out Monday with quad tightness.

“He didn’t surprise me at all,” outfielder Randy Arozarena said via team interpreter Manny Navarro. “He does everything well.”

Franco’s colleagues are amazed by his physical skills, including remarkable hand-eye coordination that allows him to rarely swing and miss and regularly put the ball in play.

“He hits the ball hard every time,” said outfielder Kevin Kiermaier. “His outs are just as impressive as his hits. You look up at the scoreboard, exit velocity 107 (mph), 103. We sit here and just talk amongst each other. Guys coming over from other teams, (relievers) Jason Adam, Brooks Raley, I heard them saying, ‘This dude is just the real deal.’ Yeah.

“I feel fortunate being able to see the start (of his career). I think that’s just what he’s going to be about for however many years he wants to do this. It is incredible how easy he makes the game look. He is a special, special player.”

The Rays also laud Franco’s hitting sense, such as his advanced approach from both sides, ball/strike judgement and mature plate discipline, as well as how rarely he gets fooled.

“A lot of maturity in the box, composure, for how young he is,” said 12-year veteran starter Corey Kluber. “Obviously his skill set speaks for itself. But the way he’s able to make little adjustments, not just at-bat to at-bat, but pitch to pitch, there’s a lot of similarities there to some really good players I’ve played with.”

Specifically, Kluber said, Franco has “an awareness of what a pitcher is trying to do” and recognizes what adjustments he needs to make.

Mottola marvels at how quickly Franco makes those changes, often after one at-bat or even just one pitch that he swung at poorly, to the point where Mottola has “really minimized” his role with him.

“We get to see it every night,” Mottola said, “but it’s even more fun to watch the other team react to it, the pitchers react to it: ‘You just swung and missed, and then you hit that pitch.’ Not only does he hit it hard, he hits it in the gap. It’s just impressive.”

Cubs manager David Ross ticked off enough good things he saw from Franco at the plate, in the field and on the bases in Tuesday’s game alone to conclude, “That’s a pretty good indication he’s a well-rounded baseball player.”

There are some areas where Franco can improve: He has only walked once in his 53 plate appearances and has hit just one homer, on Tuesday.

There is no doubt among the Rays that he will.

“He’s unique, special, talented,” manager Kevin Cash said. “And we’re seeing it in every part of his game.”

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