Last season the Cincinnati Reds send 2013 2nd round pick KJ Franklin to Billings to play for the Mustangs. To say that the season was a struggle would be an understatement. Franklin hit .211/.241/.325 with seven walks and 65 strikeouts.
There wasn’t much to look at, at least statistically, and find a bright spot. He walked in just 2.8% of his plate appearances. He struck out in 26.1% of his plate appearances. Neither of those rates were good. Power, supposed to be one of his calling cards, wasn’t there as he posted an isolated power (SLG-AVG) of just .114.
After a rough season it was back to the drawing board for Franklin. I spoke with him right as spring training was finishing up and he mentioned how good he felt and all of the work he had been putting in. It didn’t result in his promotion to Dayton and he remained back in extended spring training and when June rolled around, he was sent back to Billings.
The second trip through the league has worked wonders for the corner infielder, who has been splitting time between first and third base. Two weeks ago I wrote about some of the mechanical changes he has made for subscribers, so you should go check that out if you haven’t yet. Those changes and a better approach at the plate has led to his overall line jumping to a better than league average .268/.362/.451 through 94 plate appearances.
Let’s take a look at his peripherals compared between the two season:
| BB | K | IsoP | |
| 2014 | 2.8% | 26.1% | 114 |
| 2015 | 9.6% | 21.3% | 183 |
His walk rate has more than tripled, going from a well below-average rate to an above-average rate. The strikeout rate has dropped 18%, going from a below-average rate to an average rate. His Isolated Power has gone up by 61% and in the process jumped from a below-average rate to an above-average rate.
Just about every statistical category that Franklin could improve in, he has. And he’s improved in them significantly. From June 27th through July 4th Franklin was out of the lineup. Since his return he’s been even better than his overall line, hitting .317/.377/.540 over those 18 games with 10 extra-base hits, six walks and just 12 strikeouts.
It’s still early in the season for Billings, as they are just finishing up the 1st half of their season. But the 1st half of the year has been a massive turnaround for the Cincinnati Reds former 2nd round draft pick. If Franklin can keep doing what he has been doing in the 2nd half with the Mustangs he’s going to really start to get back into the prospect conversation within the organization as he will rise back up the prospect lists.