This Rays star has come out of gates red hot

This story was excerpted from Adam Berry’s Rays Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

WASHINGTON -- Hey, remember when there was at least a little bit of apprehension about whether Wander Franco would be ready to play on Opening Day? That was only 10 days ago, in response to Franco being scratched from a Spring Training game due to soreness in his right quad.

Turns out, there was no reason to worry.

Shoving aside any lingering concerns, Franco has started each of the Rays’ first four games at shortstop and gotten off to exactly the kind of start they were hoping to see after his injury-interrupted season last year. The switch-hitting shortstop is 8-for-15 (.533) with one home run, three doubles, two steals, three runs and four RBIs for a Tampa Bay lineup that has scored 27 runs in four games.

“I feel good, thank God. I think everything is working on defense and offense,” Franco said through interpreter Manny Navarro. “Luckily, I'm feeling really good.”

The last part is the most important.

“He’s healthy,” manager Kevin Cash said Monday afternoon at Nationals Park. “Really excited for Wander. I mean, it felt like every time we scored [during the opening series], he was either knocking a guy in or he was on base, scoring. His legs look really healthy. … He looked really clean defensively.

“Thrilled, as much as anybody, at where his first series took him.”

As we’ve noted before, it’s not like Franco struggled last year (which made the lack of hype around him in Spring Training somewhat perplexing). Thirty games into last season, he was batting .331/.355/.525, and he hit .322/.381/.471 in 25 games after returning from a fractured hamate bone. He scuffled in the middle while trying to play through injuries for essentially the first time in his career, but he still ended the season with a 117 OPS+ in 83 games.

If Franco’s healthy, he’s going to make a huge impact. He went into camp in great shape, and after that brief scare at the end of Spring Training, he certainly appears to be healthy. Just look at the way he has run the bases: He tried to steal a base on Opening Day, swiped second in the first inning on Sunday, then stole second in the fifth inning Monday.

Franco said he’s pleased with the way the whole team has started the season, deflecting the attention away from himself. Indeed, there have been a lot of encouraging performances in the early going that bode well for the Rays’ chances this season, from expected sources like Randy Arozarena and the entire rotation to those bounce-back/breakthrough hopefuls like Jose Siri and Josh Lowe.

“I think the energy that this team has is what makes us special,” Franco said through Navarro. “And if we can carry that [through] the season, I think that's going to help us out a lot.”