Maikel Franco leads Phillies past Yankees, 11-8

Three weeks from today, Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati will play host to the 86th annual All-Star Game.

Every team in baseball must be represented in the game. Even the Phillies (25-47).

The most deserving Phillies player? You could make a case for the kid one stunned Yankees fan dubbed "Superman" on Monday night in the Bronx.

Maikel Franco didn't arrived in the big leagues this year until a little over a month ago, but he is already undoubtedly the team's best hitter, and he at least stands a very good chance of still being in the team's uniform in another two months, something you can't say too strongly about the other deserving candidates.

Premature? Surely. Rewarded for one good month? Yes, we've seen that before.

But after the show Franco put on at baseball's brightest venue, in his debut at Yankee Stadium, no less, at least it's something fun to debate with your friends.

Franco went 4-for-5 with two home runs - including a titanic two-run shot on a 3-0 pitch in the sixth inning - to lead the Phillies to a 11-8 win over the Yankees. It marked the first time the Phils had won back-to-back games since June 3.

"Especially in the Dominican, every young player wants to play in Yankee Stadium, that was so special for everybody," Franco said afterward. "I'm just going out there and playing the game, playing baseball."

"He's got everything you look for in a young player," said starting pitcher Kevin Correia, the beneficiary of Franco's home run show. "He's got similarities to (Albert) Pujols with his mechanics. They're pretty amazing at this point of his career. I heard how good he was. He's showing it since I've been here, defensively and offensively. He's a guy when you're on a team in this situation that you look forward to the future."

All-Star talk is lunacy though, right? Or not?

"What do we got, 2 1/2 more weeks?" manager Ryne Sandberg said of Franco's unlikely All-Star candidacy on a team with few options. "You never know. It's a possibility."

Franco's five RBI are the most by a Phils rookie in a single game since Ryan Howard had five nearly a decade ago, on August 10, 2005. Franco had a chance for more when he came to bat for the fifth time, with the bases loaded in the seventh inning against righthander Diego Moreno.

The Dominican slugger took a couple healthy hacks, but when the at-bat ended, the Mighty Maik had struck out.

It was the one blemish on the rookie's coming out party in New York, a game that included a stellar stop and throw at third base in the sixth inning, too. It was a performance that should catapult Franco from bright spot on a bad team onto the national radar in a year when former top prospects have raided the big leagues as must-see rookies.

Included in that aforementioned class are Kris Bryant, Joc Pederson, Addison Russell, and Steven Souza Jr., and within the last few weeks, Carlos Correa, Joey Gallo and Francisco Lindor, too. Franco has more than held his own.

Following his four-hit, two-home run night, Franco is hitting .312 with nine home runs and 24 RBI in 36 games since joining the Phillies on May 15. At the conclusion of Monday night's game, Franco's .928 OPS ranked second among all major league rookies with a minimum of 125 plate appearances (behind Pederson, .944).

Franco's home run rate, 15.6 AB/HR, is eighth in the National League, 14th in baseball and third among rookies (behind Pederson and fellow Dodger Alex Guerrero).

Franco has mainly managed to tune out the numbers. He reads fastballs instead.

"I don't even pay attention," he said. "I know everybody is telling me, 'You're going good and my family is telling me I'm doing good, but when I go out there, I'm just trying to play the game, and play the game right."

"He's been our most consistent and productive hitter on a daily basis with driving the ball and stinging it, a threat," Sandberg said. "He's been the guy for a couple weeks now."

Sandberg made sure to mention the others who chipped in during the season-high, 18-hit night. Ben Revere was 3-for-6 at the top of the lineup and a parade of other youngsters had multi-hit games, too: Cesar Hernandez, Freddy Galvis, Cody Asche and Cameron Rupp.

But unless he's just in a Domonic Brown-in-2013 monthlong hot streak, Franco looks like the legit, middle-of-the-order threat the organization has long looked for to take over to Ryan Howard and Chase Utley.

"He knows how to play the game and he's showing it," Howard said. "Just let him go out there and do what he does and that's all. It's simple."

Is it enough to put Franco into a National League Rookie of the Year race, which is currently led by Pederson and his 18 home runs? Surely.

Does it warrant Franco's appearance in Cincinnati next month? Probably not.

Franco won't be an All-Star in 2015, although it would be interesting to see who would go should Cole Hamels and Jonathan Papelbon get traded in the next three weeks. Franco looked like a future All-Star on Monday, the culmination of a strong first five weeks of 2015.

He has given Philadelphia baseball fans this, if nothing else: a reason to watch.