Five players to watch in first Phillies-Mets series of 2018 season

ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 32: Rhys Hoskins #17 of the Philadelphia Phillies hits a first inning single to knock in a run against the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park on March 31, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - MARCH 32: Rhys Hoskins #17 of the Philadelphia Phillies hits a first inning single to knock in a run against the Atlanta Braves at SunTrust Park on March 31, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Scott Cunningham/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 6
Next
Phillies
CLEARWATER, FL – FEBRUARY 20: Maikel Franco #7 of the Philadelphia Phillies poses for a portrait on February 20, 2018 at Spectrum Field in Clearwater, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /

Maikel Franco

Maikel Franco definitely should be another player to keep an eye on. Franco went yard six times throughout seventeen games against the Mets last season, leading the Phillies.

Although Franco has had a very slow start to the season, this should be the series where Franco gets back to his normal self. This season, Franco is 1-for-7 with a slash line of .143/.333/.476. The 25-year-old third baseman had a similarly slow start to the season last season, staying below .200 for four games in the early stages of the season.

Against Harvey, Franco has managed to stay above .300, going three-for-eight in his major-league career. Out of those three hits, two of them are home runs. He has only struck out twice against him, and that doesn’t seem to slow him down.

Against Syndergaard, who will start in the series finale for the Mets, Franco went one-for-four last season. In his career, Franco has a .308 average in 13 at-bats. He has one double, one RBI, and three strikeouts versus Syndergaard in his career.