Phillies 2017 season grade: Third baseman Maikel Franco

Once thought of as a major building block for the Phillies future, Maikel Franco struggled for the better part of the season.

After a blistering start as a rookie in 2015, in which Maikel Franco had back-to-back five-RBI games in Yankee Stadium, one would have assumed that he was going to be a major piece for the Phillies to build around. This unfortunately, has not been the case.

After an average 2016 where Franco batted .255 with 25 home runs and 88 RBIs, off-season rumblings about a change in approach at the plate, and raving reviews at the start of spring training, expectations were for a full breakout season for the free-swinging third baseman.

Those expectations would fail to be reached as Franco had a worse season than 2016, batting .230 with 24 home runs and 76 RBIs.

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Once thought of as an untouchable piece, rumors started to circulate mid-season after a very disappointing first half that Franco was readily available for a potenial trade. Also circulating were rumors that he could be sent back down to the minors to make adjustments.

Franco was never sent down due to disagreements between former manager Pete Mackanin and GM Matt Klentak.

However, did see his playing time go down as the season went on, especially when J.P. Crawford reached the majors.

Franco needed a great year to secure his position on the team moving forward with the top prospects in the system slowly making their way up. He did finish with his strongest month of the season, batting .271 with five home runs and 11 RBIs the month of September.

Due to the high expectations going into 2017, and the failure to get anywhere near what was expected, Franco’s grade for 2017 is a D+.

With the emergence of other top prospects, his upcoming eligibility for arbitration which will cost the team more money than they wish to spend on him, and a ton of money to be spent in free agency on more established players, Franco could have played his last season as a Phillie.

Next: Phillies 2017 season grades: Catcher Jorge Alfaro

If this is the case, his time in Philadelphia will be seen as a disappointment as he failed to live up to expectations, and 2017 may ultimately be the final straw to push him out of town.