Wander’s Impressive Rookie Season Put on Hold
Wander Franco Likely Headed to Injured List
Wander Franco is likely headed to the Injured List after suffering a hamstring injury during the 1st Inning today vs the Detroit Tigers.
Franco did not appear to have suffered a severe injury when the news first broke earlier today & seemed moreso upset.
However, in Tampa’s postgame vs Detroit following a 10-4 loss, Rays Manager Kevin Cash said “We won’t know much until tomorrow but the hope is that we caught it (the hamstring injury) early enough where it’s a strain and not a pull.”
Cash later added “He’s going to miss some time. I don’t see how he avoids the IL. That’s highly likely going to happen.”
Franco also spoke postgame saying “I injured my hamstring a while back before, so hopefully it’s nothing too bad. But we’ll see.”
Franco’s Current Stats IF His Regular Seasons Ends
Prior to exiting today’s game, the young Rays phenom extended his on-base streak to 39 consecutive games, after passing Mickey Mantle’s previous 36 on-base streak for a player 20 years or younger.
Franco’s 2021 stats following the potential news if placed on the IL stands at .285/.347/.463/.810 with 7 HRs, 36 RBI & 70 Hits to go with a 2.9 WAR
Where Tampa Goes From Here
Tampa currently sits VERY comfortable atop the AL East with an 88-53 record (.624 Win %) that has a 9 game lead ahead of Boston to help show for it along with the 2nd best run differential in baseball at +173.
Being that no team in the AL East poses a big threat to Tampa’s divisional lead & that they have a deep bench with various deployable “weapons”, the loss of Franco in theory shouldn’t impact them *that much*. However, Tampa’s loss of Franco does slow down his impactful bat that has helped lead to a 39 game on-base streak & has certainly helped Tampa gain such a big lead in the AL East.
Tampa’s Remaining Schedule
Home Games:
3 Games vs DET (9/16-9/18)
3 Games vs TOR (9/19-9/22)
3 Games vs MIA (9/24-9/26)
Road Games:
3 Games vs DET (9/10-9/12)
3 Games vs TOR (9/13-9/15)
3 Games vs HOU (9/28-9/30)
3 Games vs NYY (10/1-10/3)
Reference Page
The Athletic
MLB.com
Baseball Reference
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