When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Franco throws a fastball 56% of the time, against 30.4% when he is ahead.
84 pitches behind in the count, 56 ahead.
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Franco's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 91.4 mph, against 82.3 off his slider.
113 and 100 of them thrown.
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Franco's 4-seam fastball carries 16.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
113 thrown, averaging 95.0 mph.
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .317 expected average against them, against .243 on his breaking balls.
113 of his fastballs thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Franco throws the changeup 24.6% of the time against left-handers and 0.8% against right-handers.
128 pitches to right-handers, 114 to left-handers.
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Franco lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.20 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
242 located pitches in 2026.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Franco goes to the slider: 49.1% of his two-strike pitches, against 38.9% the rest of the time.
57 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Franco lives in the strike zone: 45% of his pitches are in it, 73rd percentile.
242 pitches in 2026. 73rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 144th in MLB.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Franco works with 3 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider and Changeup. The 4-seam fastball is 46.7% of everything he throws.
242 classified pitches in 2026.
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Franco is weak: 86.6 mph off the bat on average, 77th percentile.
242 pitches in 2026. 77th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 126th in MLB.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Franco throws a strike on the first pitch 54.5% of the time.
66 plate appearances started in 2026.
He lives on one side of the plate
Franco works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.6 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
242 located pitches in 2026.
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Franco releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 57 degrees above horizontal and 0.9 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
242 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 feet off the ground.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Franco's 4-seam fastball averages 95.0 mph, and has touched 97.5.
113 thrown, 46.7% of his pitches.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 33.3% of the contact Franco gives up is hit hard, 77th percentile.
242 pitches in 2026. 77th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 122nd in MLB.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Franco's 4-seam fastball moves 9.3 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
113 thrown, averaging 95.0 mph.
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Franco puts 46.1% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 43.9% of his pitches to left-handers.
128 pitches to right-handed hitters, 114 to left-handed hitters.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Franco's slider spins at 2,506 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
100 thrown in 2026.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Franco projects a .307 average, 69th percentile.
242 pitches in 2026. 69th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 168th in MLB.
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Franco's stuff spins at 2,334 rpm, 63rd percentile in the league.
242 pitches in 2026. 63rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 198th in MLB.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.3 mph separates Franco's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 95.0 against 84.7.
113 and 100 of them respectively.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Franco puts 52.4% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 46.4% when he is ahead.
84 located pitches behind, 56 ahead.
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The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
When he falls behind, hitters know exactly what is coming
Behind in the count Franco throws a fastball 56% of the time, against 30.4% when he is ahead.
84 pitches behind in the count, 56 ahead.
This is the pitch he goes to when he needs the out
With two strikes Franco goes to the slider: 49.1% of his two-strike pitches, against 38.9% the rest of the time.
57 two-strike pitches in 2026.
He falls behind hitters far too often
Franco throws a strike on the first pitch 54.5% of the time.
66 plate appearances started in 2026.
How much of the zone he uses depends on the count
Franco puts 52.4% of his pitches in the zone when he is behind and 46.4% when he is ahead.
84 located pitches behind, 56 ahead.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
There is one pitch of his that keeps getting hit
Contact off Franco's 4-seam fastball leaves the bat at 91.4 mph, against 82.3 off his slider.
113 and 100 of them thrown.
He saves one pitch for one side of the plate
Franco throws the changeup 24.6% of the time against left-handers and 0.8% against right-handers.
128 pitches to right-handers, 114 to left-handers.
His pitches move in ways that fit together
Franco works with 3 pitches: 4-Seam Fastball, Slider and Changeup. The 4-seam fastball is 46.7% of everything he throws.
242 classified pitches in 2026.
His fastball is the pitch everything else is built on
Franco's 4-seam fastball averages 95.0 mph, and has touched 97.5.
113 thrown, 46.7% of his pitches.
One pitch of his spins more than almost anyone's
Franco's slider spins at 2,506 rpm, the highest in his arsenal.
100 thrown in 2026.
The gap between his pitches is what makes them work
10.3 mph separates Franco's 4-seam fastball from his slider, 95.0 against 84.7.
113 and 100 of them respectively.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One pitch of his moves in a way hitters rarely see
Franco's 4-seam fastball carries 16.4 inches of ride against a spinless ball, the biggest vertical move in his arsenal.
113 thrown, averaging 95.0 mph.
One pitch of his runs sideways more than almost anyone's
Franco's 4-seam fastball moves 9.3 inches toward the third-base side, the biggest horizontal move in his arsenal.
113 thrown, averaging 95.0 mph.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
One type of hitter does all the damage against him
Hitters do their damage on his fastballs: a .317 expected average against them, against .243 on his breaking balls.
113 of his fastballs thrown.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He works one part of the zone far more than the rest
Franco lives at the bottom of the zone: his average pitch crosses at 2.20 feet, against a zone that runs 1.5 to 3.5.
242 located pitches in 2026.
He lives on one side of the plate
Franco works in on right-handers: his average pitch lands 2.6 inches to that side of the middle of the plate.
242 located pitches in 2026.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
He fills the strike zone and makes hitters beat him
Franco lives in the strike zone: 45% of his pitches are in it, 73rd percentile.
242 pitches in 2026. 73rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 144th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Spray Chart.
Take me there
Hitters cannot square him up, the contact is weak
Contact against Franco is weak: 86.6 mph off the bat on average, 77th percentile.
242 pitches in 2026. 77th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 126th in MLB.
Almost nothing hit off him is hit well
Only 33.3% of the contact Franco gives up is hit hard, 77th percentile.
242 pitches in 2026. 77th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 122nd in MLB.
The contact he allows should not turn into many hits
The quality of contact against Franco projects a .307 average, 69th percentile.
242 pitches in 2026. 69th percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 168th in MLB.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
The angle he throws from is unusual, and hitters notice
Franco releases the ball from a three-quarters slot, about 57 degrees above horizontal and 0.9 feet to the third-base side of the rubber.
242 tracked release points, averaging 5.7 feet off the ground.
The numbers behind these live in Matchups.
Take me there
He pitches differently depending on which hand is up
Franco puts 46.1% of his pitches to right-handers in the zone and 43.9% of his pitches to left-handers.
128 pitches to right-handed hitters, 114 to left-handed hitters.
The numbers behind these live in Pitch Data.
Take me there
His ball moves more than the hitter expects it to
Franco's stuff spins at 2,334 rpm, 63rd percentile in the league.
242 pitches in 2026. 63rd percentile among qualified pitchers in 2026, 198th in MLB.
Reds
Career team 2026