If you’ve paid any attention to the Phillies whatsoever over the last six months or so, you’re well familiar with the consensus on Maikel Franco’s sophomore campaign: it was bad. The prevailing narrative is that the presumptive future third baseman of the Phillies regressed significantly in his age-23 season. He was flailing at pitches, lost all semblance of plate discipline, and cast serious doubt on his potential future as a cornerstone on the next great Phillies team, if such a thing happens in the next 10 years.
A prevailing narrative is rarely such without reason, and the sense that Franco’s 2016 was a disappointment is no different.