KEEPERS: The changing 2016 landscape, part I

Following a pedestrian 2014 Triple-A debut—.257 BA, 16 HR, 30 BB over 521 AB—and a 10-for-56 homerless September in PHI, Maikel Franco didn't look like an MLB-ready contributor. Franco had shown big power a year earlier at lower levels but poor pitch selection, over-aggressiveness and an occasionally long swing left more than a few analysts and observers wondering when and even if Franco would successfully hold down an MLB job.

But sharp-eyed and more optimistic keeper league owners noted Franco's superior contact for a power hitter, his streakiness and tendency to struggle initially after advancing a level. They took to heart Franco's 11 HR and .324 BA in his final 216 AB Triple-A AB. They duly noted his subsequent 14 HR / 31 BB...

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