Franchy Cordero receives a value increase in a roundabout (not a rotary!) way due to the universal DH, because Wil Myers seems more likely to head to the DH spot now vs. sharing playing time with Franchy in right field. With Myers sharing DH duties (hehe, I said duties) with another red, white and blue flagger with no stars. Not Franchy, but parlez vous français…? How do you say in French, “What France hopes for in every World Cup tournament?” Ty France! That’s their GOOOOOOOOOAL! Sorry, when it comes to Ty France, I’m no Francophile. One thing Franchy Cordero and Ty France might have in common, besides being direct descendants of Robespierre, is they might be Quad-A players. You say Franchy, I say Ty France, let’s call the whole thing off like the French call off their military. But, if I’m being generous like the French with body odor, Ty France had no value prior to the universal DH, and now he’s at least worth a flyer for power — he had seven homers in 69 games (nice!), but hit .234 and we’re here to talk about Franchy, not France. Sorry, to misrepresent what I was baguette’ing at. Today, I’m donning a Franchy jersey, saying in my mirror, “I’m Franch dressing.” Don’t you relish me; that’s thousand island. So, what can we expect from Franchy Cordero for 2020 fantasy baseball and what makes him a great dart throw?
Franchy Cordero has been playing minor league baseball since 1908, approximately. More specifically, he started with the Padres in Rookie Ball in 2012. It took him until 2016 to get to Double-A. It’s not as bad as it sounds (it’s also not great), because he was so young when he was drafted, he was only 22 when he reached Double-A. Still, it’s not ideal. How’sever, he only needed one year in Double-A before he was in Triple-A and the majors, getting his first taste in 2017. And what a taste that was! Sorry, that exclamation is less excitement and more meh, but I needed to build up to current day excitement where Steamer projections have him down for 8/5/.225 in 70 games. Lowercase yay. On the equally dreary side, that prorates up to 11/6 in 96 games. Last year across two levels, he had three homers, one steal and a 36% strikeout rate. That’s one stinky cheese, Franchy! Wow, when I said I wasn’t a Francophile, I wasn’t simply talking about Ty France and Maikel Franco, huh? Okay, time for a positive note or three. Last year, Franchy was hobbled by an elbow and quad injury and was never healthy. The year before, he went 7/5 in only 40 games or 139 ABs. In 2018, he averaged 439 feet on his homers (that’s very far — though small sample, obviously). In only 100 batted ball events (which is again small), Franchy’s exit velocity was 14th best in the majors. The top 15 only has two complete flukes — most of the names are guys like Aaron Judge and J.D. Martinez. Power won’t be Franchy’s je ne sais quoi, he’s a line drive/ground ball hitter. In 2018, his Launch Angle was 5.9, which is low, but last year it was more level in a very small sample with 11.5. He struggles with contact, but could easily have a .330 BABIP and hit .250, due to his speed. His Sprint Speed is in the 90th percentile, and is about as fast as Victor Robles and Jon Berti. Think 15-20+ SBs with a full-time job over a full season. The thing with a shortened season though, a guy like Franchy could steal eight bags in 82 games, or 18 steals. Steals come fast and to the fast. Damn it, I’m pithy! That is my take on Franchy, in general too. He could be a 7/7 guy, which is meh, or get hot and be a 12/18 guy, which is borderline a top 20 outfielder in a shortened season. Definitely worth a dart throw, because anything you get from a Franch flyer is gravy — disco!
