Philadelphia Phillies

Will Sandberg keep Maikel Franco in the Phillies' cleanup spot?

Published Jun. 11, 2015 5:28 a.m. ET

foxsports

Maikel Franco has been a run-producing machine in the No. 5 spot for the Philadelphia Phillies this season, but would his production be even more if he were to hit in the cleanup spot?

Manager Ryne Sandberg is teetering on the idea himself, and had Franco hit fourth for the Phillies on Wednesday. He went 1-for-4.

Franco is ripping the ball in June and is hitting .444 with a ridiculous 1.376 OPS, four homers and eight RBI in nine games in the month so far.

So, will Sandberg experiment with the rookie's position in the lineup and continue batting him in the cleanup spot?

"We'll see," Sandberg said. "He has that potential. The way that he's hitting right now, it sets up Howard for RBI situations possibly with first-and-thirds, and man on second, things like that, runners in scoring position. So I think it works for two players. We'll just see. But I think he's potentially a three-, four-, five-type of a hitter."

(h/t Philadelphia Daily News)

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