Notes: Franco adjusting; two head to Tokyo

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Wander Franco said he has learned a lot during his first week and a half as a Major League player, with the most helpful piece of advice coming from outfielder Manuel Margot about how to handle slumps at the game’s highest level.

“Margot told me: 'Just keep doing what you’re doing,'” Franco said Friday afternoon through interpreter Manny Navarro. “'You’re going to struggle. Don’t change too much. Just keep doing what you’re doing.'”

Rays manager Kevin Cash echoed that sentiment, knowing good things are coming even though Franco’s early surface-level statistics don’t reflect the top prospect’s talent or reputation as a switch-hitting prodigy. Franco entered Friday’s series opener against the Blue Jays just 6-for-31 in his first eight games, and he went down swinging against starter Alek Manoah in the first inning.

“I’ve seen a really good player. Hasn’t got the results, maybe, that everybody wants to see,” Cash said. “But if you take a step back and recognize, appreciate how hard he’s hit the ball, it seems like he’s hitting at least two balls a night right on the screws and doesn’t have a ton to show for it yet. We are really confident that those hits are coming. Especially if you continue to hit balls hard, there’s plenty of information that tells us and everybody else that you’re going to give yourself a better chance of getting hits and finding outfield grass.”

Franco said much the same, explaining that he will continue to trust that good things will happen if he continues to work. Even in a small sample size, he began the series with a noticeably higher expected batting average (.274) based on how hard he has hit the ball. But the 20-year-old did note that it has been an adjustment facing big league pitchers, especially veterans with more precise command of their arsenals than he saw in the Minors.

“Obviously everyone’s got similar pitches as far as breaking balls and offspeed and things like that,” Franco said. “They’re just able to locate a lot more consistently.”

The Rays fully expect Franco will figure it out, the way he always has. There was an eight-game stretch in late May, for instance, in which Franco went just 6-for-34 for Triple-A Durham. He responded to that mini-slump by hitting .354/.398/.671 in 20 games before his promotion.

One player who can relate to the expectations Franco is facing? Toronto’s first baseman on Friday night: Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Guerrero is also a former top prospect who broke into the big leagues at the age of 20, and the American League All-Star has emerged this season as one of the game’s best hitters.

“It’s tough for all of us, for myself, to wrap my head around him being 20 years old and as talented as he is. What he comes in with, none of us can appreciate,” Cash said. “I said when he got called up, it’s like going back to -- the most recent was Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and then Bryce Harper, probably, as being just those top, top, premium, game-changing prospects. I think Wander has handled it really, really well.”

Pitching prospects on Team USA
Right-handers Shane Baz and Joe Ryan, two of the top pitching prospects in the Rays’ system, were officially named on Friday to the United States’ 24-man roster for the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The 25-year-old Ryan and 22-year-old Baz will represent their country on a roster that includes fellow prospects and longtime big leaguers, like former Rays pitchers Scott Kazmir and Edwin Jackson, who aren’t currently on 40-man rosters.

“They can pick from a lot of people. To be selected is just a big honor,” Baz told reporters on Zoom. “Very humbled. Lucky. Excited. Those are the words that come to mind.”

Ryan said he was expecting to be chosen for the Summer Games roster after he pitched for Team USA during the Olympic qualifying tournament last month. But the honor was not lost on him.

“I think that's always been in the back of my mind, finding a way to get to the Olympics,” Ryan said. “And when I heard it was going to be this year, I was excited about that. … Never been to Japan; very excited about that. Probably not going to get to see much of the country, but at the same time, it's going to be an amazing experience.”

Team USA will train in Cary, N.C., beginning on July 16. They will play a three-game exhibition series from July 18-20, with the second game taking place at Durham Bulls Athletic Park on July 19. Baz and Ryan, who are pitching well in Triple-A, said they had no concerns about missing a potential call-up by leaving Durham to compete for a gold medal.

“This is kind of like, honestly, just once in a lifetime,” said Baz, who just Wednesday was named to the American League team in the All-Star Futures Game. “It just kind of lined up. Obviously I want to play in the big leagues, but winning a gold medal for your country, that's pretty tough to beat.”

A trip to the Falls
With an off-day in Buffalo before Friday’s series opener at Sahlen Field, a few groups of Rays made the quick journey to see nearby Niagara Falls on Thursday.

Left-hander Shane McClanahan said he took a boat tour on the famous Maid of the Mist with teammates Josh Fleming, Pete Fairbanks and Ryan Yarbrough. Franco went with coach Rodney Linares and teammates Manuel Margot, Diego Castillo and Randy Arozarena, who streamed most of his trip live on Instagram.

“It was pretty cool to see in person, the magnitude of it,” said McClanahan, a first-time visitor. “The poncho didn’t really do much, but it was a fun experience. … It was a lot of fun. Just the camaraderie was probably the best part, just always making jokes and being around those guys is a lot of fun.”