J.J. Franco

John James Franco

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 7", Weight 152 lb.
• School Brown University
• High School Poly Prep Country Day School

• Born February 2, 1992 in New York, NY USA

BR minors page

Biographical Information

Shortstop J.J. Franco is the son of relief ace John Franco. J.J. was picked by the New York Mets in the 42nd round of the 2010 amateur draft but said he planned to go to Brown University instead.

He was signed by the Atlanta Braves after being taken in the 38th round of the 2014 amateur draft. He made his professional debut with the GCL Braves and had a strong first season, hitting .347 in 31 games. However, he only played 6 games for the Rome Braves in 2015 before being released. He resurfaced in 2016 in the Chicago White Sox organization, hitting .195 in 24 games between the AZL White Sox and Great Falls Voyagers, both at the Rookie classification. He did better in 2017, continuing as a utility player with three different teams, the Kannapolis Intimidators and Winston-Salem Dash, both Class A affiliates of the White Sox, and the Columbia Fireflies, the farm team of the New York Mets, the team most associated with his father, in the South Atlantic League. Combined, he hit .276/.382/.325 in 60 games.

In 2018, the Mets assigned J.J. to the Binghamton Mets of the AA Eastern League as an injury replacement for a week in April, then had him with the St. Lucie Mets of the Florida State League, where he did well, hitting .296 in 33 games. He returned to Binghamton in mid-July but struggled badly at the higher level, ending up at .120 in 22 games between his two stints. His season also ended early as he played his last game on August 25th before being placed on the disabled list.

Related Sites

• Brown University bio