Pardon my Franch!
There have not been many proud moments for me since I joined the National League Tout Wars back in 2017. I wasted money on Robert Gsellman and Julio Urías . I thought Grégory Polanco was worth paying up for, and I lost Justin Turner very early in the season.
In 2018, I landed Franchy Cordero ! Ok, so it was a small victory, but one that was definitely calculated going into my auction this season. Cordero, besides having one of the best names in fantasy baseball, was also the star of the Dominican Winter League this offseason. Cordero posted a .393 OBP and hit 5 Homers in 50 games. Not impressed? Last season in Triple A, Cordero hit 17 bombs in 93 games and hit .326.
Now you may be asking yourself if Franchy is so fantastic why didn’t he make the big-league club out of Spring Training. He got hurt. It’s pretty simple. The 23-year old tweaked his groin in late march and never fully got back on the field to make an impact. After a short stint in Triple A where he went 6-for-14 with a home run and stolen base, he’s now back and led off for the Padres on Wednesday.
There are tremendous raw tools here. There is some major swing and miss as well. Cordero is the kind of player that because of his skills you have to get a little excited about, and for those owners in fantasy who are now clinging to Manny Margot on the DL, he’s a must add. Margot isn’t exactly a fast healer either. Last season he missed well more than his 10-day DL assignment and if Cordero hits, maybe he turns into more than just a platoon option. He definitely can steal bases, and the power is legit. I’d doubt his batting average rises above .250 at the big league level, and playing half his games at Petco probably won’t help that either.
For those of you who own Margot, or perhaps Lewis Brinson (Marins), Ian Happ (Cubs) this is a player to add and throw a dart. You own struggling players who could see playing time reduced by the end of the month. Cordero could take this lead off job and run with it, and of course there is the chance Franchy fails. Ill take that risk here. I paid $2 for Cordero in the Tout Wars National League auction and I’m absolutely giddy over it. Grab Franchy in 12 and 15 team leagues and see what happens.
[Editor’s note: In the time this was submitted, Cordero was not only called up, but hit leadoff for the Padres on Wednesday. He went 1-for-4 with a solo home run. Boom goes the dynamite!]