Louisville’s Juan Francisco led the International League in several offensive categories for the past week, including batting average (.583), hits (14), doubles (5), extra-base hits (8), RBI (14), slugging percentage (1.125), and on-base percentage (.630). He was also 3rd in runs (9). Francisco collected multiple hits and multiple RBI in each of his first five games this week, making for a streak of six games altogether for the Dominican slugger. On Monday and Tuesday in the final two games of a series at Buffalo, Francisco combined to go 6-9 with four doubles and six RBI. Then after an off day Wednesday, The Bats returned home for a four-game set with Rochester. Francisco pounded Red Wings pitching by going 8-15 with two homers, a double, a triple, and 8 more RBI as the Bats took three out of four from Rochester. Over the course of the week, Francisco improved his stat line on the year from .145-2-5 to .258-4-19.
22-year-old Juan Francisco is in his sixth season as a professional player, all coming with the Reds after he was signed by Cincinnati as a non-drafted free agent in 2004. He has been named the organization’s Minor League Hitter of the Year each of the last two seasons. His Major League debut was with the Reds last September (hitting .429 in 14 games), and he was later one of the stars of the Dominican Winter League (hitting .302 with 11 HR and 42 RBI in 46 G). Francisco is a native of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
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Originally Posted by nemesis
