December 1, 2008

 

Throws: Right
Height/Weight: 6'3''/230
Birthday: 9/11/1979 (Age 29) 
Roster Status: On 40-man Roster; 0 Options Remaining; Free Agent after 2010 Season

Background: Texas is Frank Francisco's third organization. The power righty was originally signed by the Red Sox in December 1996 at the age of 17 out of the Dominican Republic. After being in the Boston organization for five and a half years, he was traded to the White Sox at the 2002 trade deadline with minor leaguer Byeong Hak An for Bobby Howry. The Rangers finally acquired him at the following trade deadline, on July 25, 2003. He was one of three players to be named later acquired as part of the July 1 Carl Everett trade, along with Josh Rupe and Anthony Webster. Francisco hasn't really ever been a high-profile prospect in his career, but he's come a long way since his original signing.

Pitches: Francisco has transitioned from being a starter pitcher to a reliever since he entered the Texas organization. As such, he has more pitches available than some relievers. His best pitch by far is his fastball, which is consistently in the mid-90s. He really dialed it up in Arlington last year, resulting in an average fastball velocity just under 95. He locates it well most of the time, though it is sometimes a bit too straight. However, if he continues to command it, he will be fine. His main secondary pitch is his splitter, which usually sits in the mid-80s. It's a very solid pitch, though it can sometimes bounce to the plate. When it's on, it's a true plus pitch. Francisco's final offering that he uses with any frequency is his curveball, which is in the upper-70s. It's another very solid offering, though he sometimes loses feel for it like he does with the splitter. However, on nights when he's on with all three pitches, hitters have almost no chance of success. All three offerings are potentially plus on any given night, and pitching for only an inning means he can go after every hitter full-strength with a good mix of pitches that consistently get hitters out.

Professional Experience: Francisco didn't pitch stateside until his debut in the Gulf Coast League in 1999. Mixing between starting and relieving, he went 2-4 with a 4.58 ERA in 53 innings, striking out 48 and walking 35. He was fairly hittable over the course of the season. 2000 was a complete failure for Francisco, as he missed almost the entire season due to injury. He only pitched in a single bad outing back in the GCL. As a result, Francisco's main goal in 2001 was to get healthy and build up innings. The Red Sox decided to assign Francisco to Augusta in the South Atlantic League (Single-A), and he pitched the entire season out of the bullpen to manage his workload. He had his first taste of pro success there. In 68 innings of relief, he posted a 2.91 ERA, striking out 90 and walking 30. He allowed just 40 hits and 3 home runs. This success led Baseball America to name him the Red Sox' 10th-best prospect prior to the 2002 season. Francisco was assigned to High-A Sarasota of the Florida State League to start 2002, both starting and relieving there. In 53 innings, he had a 2.55 ERA, striking out 58 and walking 27. He allowed just 33 hits, only 1 of them a home run. He was promoted by the Red Sox to AA Trenton, where he joined their bullpen. In 16 innings there, he went 2-2 with a 5.62 ERA, striking out 18 and walking 16. With control issues lingering, the Red Sox dealt him to the White Sox at the trade deadline, and the White Sox placed him in the starting rotation at Winston-Salem, their High-A affiliate in the Carolina League. In 6 starts, Francisco went 0-4 with a 7.96 ERA, striking out 25 and walking 18 in 26 innings. Serious control issues over the final half of 2002 caused him to slip in prospect circles, and Baseball America named him the White Sox' number 29 prospect heading into 2003. The White Sox decided to return Francisco to Winston-Salem for the beginning of 2003 so that he could continue to work out the kinks in his delivery. He started 16 games for them, going 7-3 with a 3.58 ERA in 78 innings, striking out 67 and walking 36, still a high number. However, he was again included in a deadline deal, ending his tenure with the White Sox in less than a year. Now with Texas, the Rangers promoted him to AA Frisco, where he spent the majority of the time there in the rotation, as well. He had a very tough time adjusting to AA again, going 2-3 in 35 innings with a 8.49 ERA, striking out 22 and walking 18. The Rangers' answer to this was to transition Francisco to the bullpen full-time beginning with the Arizona Fall League. Success there meant his continued bullpen stay back at Frisco to start the 2004 season. Francisco was purely dominant in that short stay at Frisco, going 1-3 with a 2.50 ERA in 18 innings, striking out 30 and walking 10. He allowed only 7 hits in that stint, as well. That eye-popping performance earned him a promotion to Arlington in mid-May. In his debut season, Francisco went 5-1 with a 3.33 ERA in 51.1 innings, striking out 60 and walking 28. His debut included being named the AL Rookie of the Month for August. However, the season went sour on September 13 in Oakland with the infamous chair-throwing incident. His subsequent 15 game suspension ended his year, and he returned only to pitch winter ball in the Dominican. Following the incident, the Rangers became very low on Francisco. He struggled mightily in Frisco at the beginning of the season, having been placed on the disabled list with right elbow inflammation. After more sub-par outings at Oklahoma, Francisco underwent Tommy John surgery on April 29, 2005, missing the remainder of the season. He returned to Frisco in mid-2006, posting a 1.80 ERA in 15 innings, striking out 22 and walking 4. After a quick stint down in Spokane, the Rangers recalled him in September 2006. In his first Major League duty since September 2004, he went 0-1 with a 4.91 ERA in 7.1 innings, striking out 6 and walking 2. After spending most of the first month of 2007 back down in Oklahoma, Francisco was recalled and pitched the remainder of the season in Arlington. He went 1-1 with a 4.55 ERA in 59.1 innings, striking out 49 and walking 38. This mediocre performance meant that Francisco was heading into 2008 without a guaranteed bullpen spot in Arlington and time running out for becoming a solid Major League bullpen option.

2008 Season: Facing stiff competition for an Opening Day bullpen job, Francisco quickly lost. Optioned out to Oklahoma to begin the season, he became their closer immediately. In 8 appearances there, he saved 5 and allowed no runs in 9 innings, striking out 16 and walking 3. Upon returning to Arlington in late-April, Francisco quickly became the Rangers' most reliable reliever. He slowly moved from middle relief to closer over the course of the season, finishing out the season with 5 saves in as many opportunities from August 27 on. His line for the entire year in Arlington was 3-5 with a 3.13 ERA in 63.1 innings, striking out 83 and walking 26. He allowed just 47 hits, resulting in a .208 opponents' batting average. His main deficiency was the 7 home runs he allowed, a high number for a short relief pitcher. They were spread over the course of the entire season (save September), so they weren't just in a bad string of outings. However, his 2008 was by far his best season as a pro, and he may have established himself as the Rangers' closer for 2009.

Future Outlook: Francisco only has two more years with the Rangers before he reaches free agency. In fact, he's in for a decent pay increase following his strong 2008 season. He's established a secure spot in the bullpen, and, being out of options, he'll likely stay there until free agency. The question for 2009 is whether he'll retain his closer's spot. If the Rangers go out and get an established closer, it's likely that Francisco will slide into the 8th inning setup role. However, if the Rangers don't do that, I see him as the Rangers' closer in April. However, he'll be on a shorter leash than most closers in baseball, since his track record is fairly short. I see Francisco having success as a league-average closer for 2009. However, it's possible we just witnessed Francisco's peak season, and he could regress starting in 2009. However, I am fairly confident in Francisco's abilities, and I think he'll build on his 2008 success with another strong relief campaign.

Written by Andy Seiler

Photo from flickr.com; Username maddog's playground