MLB Players to Watch (Part 2 of 2)

One month into another baseball season, I wanted to look at some of the players that I am excited to watch throughout 2023. These are not necessarily flip picks or players that I am buying. Rather, they are individuals that I am interested in seeing how things play out for over the 162-game schedule.

Wander Franco

Once the number one prospect in all of baseball, Franco’s star dimmed with collectors in 2021 and 2022 as injuries and inconsistency hampered his productivity.  However, he showed signs of life over the last twenty-five games of 2022, cutting down on his strikeouts and averaging a respectable an on-base plus slugging (OPS) percentage of .852.  Franco has carried this success into 2023, batting .304 with four home runs and fourteen runs batted in at the time of writing.  His team, the Tampa Bay Rays won their first thirteen games of the year and look to be one of the top clubs in baseball for 2023.  

All of this has been noticed by collectors, and Franco’s card prices have seen a steady increase over the last several weeks.  PSA 9 copies of his 2019 Bowman Chrome cost $45, while PSA 10 versions are $85.