BASEBALL : Franco Keeps Average, Hopes Up by Altering Batting Style

The way Matt Franco sees it, he might have to settle for being a .300 hitter.

Franco, 22, longs to hit the long ball and prove to the Chicago Cubs organization that he is a legitimate prospect to play third base at Wrigley Field.

“Ever since I was a kid, this home run thing has always come up,” said Franco, a sixth-round draft pick of the Cubs out of Westlake High in 1988.

Last season, Franco gave up the swing that got him signed and swung for the fences while playing for Class-A Winston-Salem (N.C.) in the South Atlantic League. He finished with a .215 average and only four homers and 41 runs batted in in 104 games.

“I tried to be a power hitter but that just wasn’t me,” Franco said. “This season, I went back to my game, which is hitting to all fields.”

This season, Franco is batting .300 with one homer and 26 RBIs in 88 games for Charlotte (N.C.) in the double-A Southern League. He has played third base, first base and left field.

“After last season, I thought I was going to be going back to Winston-Salem for sure,” Franco said.

“But during spring training, I had a talk with one of our minor league coordinators and he said, ‘What good is it going to do to send you back? Just get back to what you do best and let’s see how you do in double A.’

“It’s worked out pretty well. I guess I just have to believe that as I get older and stronger, I’ll hit more home runs. If that doesn’t happen, there has to be some organization that can use a .300 hitter.”

Waiting his turn: Mark Gieseke, another former Westlake High standout, was on the disabled list at the beginning of the season, despite what appeared to be an injury-free spring training.

Gieseke, who batted .313 with nine homers and 54 RBIs last season for High Desert in the Class-A California League, earned a berth on the roster of Wichita (Kan.), the San Diego Padres’ double-A affiliate. Unfortunately for Gieseke, a logjam in the organization required him to go on the DL.

“They told me it could be two days or three weeks,” Gieseke said. “I just had to be ready when my chance came.”

As Gieseke, 24, waited for other players to be promoted, demoted or injured, he took batting practice, lifted weights and traveled with the team. He was activated 19 days into the season. His first at-bats came against Angel pitcher Bert Blyleven, who was on a rehabilitation assignment with Midland (Tex.).

Gieseke, a first baseman and outfielder, had a double in that first game but quickly sank into a 3-for-40 slump. He has since recovered and is batting .246 with four homers and 27 RBIs in 65 games.

“It’s been kind of tough because I haven’t really been able to play regularly,” said Gieseke, who signed out of Cal State Sacramento in 1990. “On our last road trip, I sat for 15 consecutive games and pinch-hit seven or eight times.

“But I can’t complain because the guys who are ahead of me in the organization at first base are doing a great job. When you’re in this position, you just have to try and prepare for the opportunities when they come up. Hopefully, I can finish strong and get off to a better start next season.”

Stuffing the opposition: Sean Boldt has had more problems with his eating habits than with hitters this season.

Boldt, 19, carved up the opposition en route to an 0.69 earned-run average in 40 1/3 innings for Martinsville (Va.) in the Appalachian Rookie League before he was promoted to Class-A Geneva (N.Y.) in the New York-Penn League on July 31.

Boldt, 6-foot-2, 185 pounds, said he was getting outs, but he wasn’t getting enough to eat.

“I was waking up too late and eating only one meal a day,” said Boldt, a right-hander from El Camino Real High who signed as a free agent last summer. “That’s something I’ll be working on during the off-season, eating three or four meals a day.”

Boldt gave up four earned runs in nine innings last season at Martinsville, a Philadelphia Phillies’ rookie-league affiliate. He began this season in extended spring training at Clearwater, Fla., then joined short-season Martinsville in June.

In his debut for Geneva on Thursday, Boldt, a reliever, gave up three runs in three innings, including a homer.

“Staying in extended spring really helped me get my control,” Boldt said. “I feel pretty good about the season I’ve had.”