PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. - Wherever Rays prospect Wander Franco goes a crowd will follow.

“Every day we go out to the ballpark and come out to stretch, we got 50-100 people wanting his autograph,” said Stone Crabs manager Jeff Smith.  

Those fans want Franco’s name on a ball for good reason: he’s the number one prospect in all of baseball.

“I want to share something with the fans and that’s a big part of this job; having a good relationship with the fans,” said Franco through an interpreter. He is one of six Rays prospects to be ranked in the Top 100 players in the minor leagues.  

Franco understands the business of baseball. At just 18 years old, he is mature beyond his years. That helped Franco get called up to High-A ball with the Charlotte Stone Crabs in June.  

“Defensively, base-running, teammates, all the intangibles all across the board," said Smith. "And you’re asking an 18-year-old kid to do this in the Florida State League.”

The Florida State League has an average age of 22. While some prospects would let their ego take over, Franco has remained committed to his workouts as well as learning from coaches and teammates.

“Every time when I come to the field I just want to work on something," said Franco. "I want to get better every single day and get better every time. I never think anything is going to come easy for me. I have to work hard and keep learning.”

Franco even enjoys making mistakes. They help him on his journey through the minors.

“I’m always going to be aggressive and learn something," said Franco. I get thrown out at second base, that's okay becaUSE maybe I can pickup something off the pitcher or catcher and I’m going to try and do that every time on the field.”

Franco is also committed to improving off the field. His biggest challenge to date: learning the English language.

“Baseball comes so easy to him that English has been a nice refreshing challenge for him," said John Vittas, who is the Stone Crabs broadcaster. "He isn’t that challenged on the field because of his elite ability. He’s put a lot of his energy this season into learning the culture and the language.”

While Franco is progressing with his English the only language he needs to be concerned with is that of baseball. The hope is one day he’ll hear his name called at the Trop.

“I have found myself thinking about it a couple of times – me taking at-bats over at Tropicana Field,” said Franco with a smile, revealing his braces.  

Wander Franco is on his way to the majors. The only question is when. Until that happens, you can find him working hard on a minor league field. He’s the one always smiling.

For the little boy from the Dominican Republic, his dreams have already come true.