Rays' Wander Franco turning into a flippin' star

The play sparked varied reactions good and bad on social media, but there's no denying the ball flip shows off Franco's skills. The 22-year-old remained humble in postgame interviews, though.

"I mess around in practice," Franco told MLB.com through an interpreter. "Through instincts, I think it just happened."

Franco didn't just amaze with the glove -- he also went 2-for-5 with two RBI and a moonshot homer after his marvelous defensive play. 

The game served as a reminder of what Franco has done in his breakout season. After two solid-but-injury-riddled seasons in 2020 and 2021, the switch-hitting shortstop looks like a budding superstar. 

Through 29 games, Franco has done it all, hitting six homers and putting up a .929 OPS while also swiping seven bags.

At the plate, Franco possesses remarkable power while not chasing many pitches. His 23.5% chase rate on pitches outside the strike zone is in the top quarter of the league, according to Baseball Savant. 

Franco makes contact with the ball often, and when he does, it's hit hard. A 90.7 mph average exit velocity puts him comfortably above league average. As Franco has started to lift the ball more, balls have started flying farther. (He has a three-degree increase in average launch angle this season.)

Franco has also flashed the leather at multiple points this season, hanging with some of the best defensive shortstops in MLB. He's tied for fourth among all shortstops in outs above average, a metric used to measure fielder range and capability to make difficult plays. 

Two of the players Franco is tied with are the Cubs' Dansby Swanson, the NL Gold Glove winner last season, and the Mets' Francisco Lindor, a two-time Gold Glover. On some instances, Franco hasn't even needed a glove:

Overall, Franco provides value in almost every area, and he is finally looking like the five-tool player that scouts projected him to be.