Struck by bat, Franklin placed on DL

Shortstop Nick Franklin, the Mariners' top Minor League prospect, was placed on the Southern League disabled list Tuesday, one day after he was struck by a bat during batting practice.

The incident occurred Monday, some 45 minutes before the Double-A Jackson Generals played at Montgomery. Franklin was taken to a local hospital but accompanied the team on the seven-hour bus ride back to Tennessee, according to the Seattle Times.

"He had some nausea, headaches and dizziness on the bus from Montgomery, but once he got off the bus it all subsided," Mariners director of Minor League operations Pedro Grifol told the newspaper. "It's being treated as a possible concussion. If it is a concussion, we'll take the proper organizational protocol. If it isn't, we're looking seven days at the minimum."

MLB.com's No. 31 prospect had joined the Generals last week after spending the first 2 1/2 months of the season in the California League. After hitting .275 with five homers and 20 RBIs in 64 games with Class A Advanced High Desert, Franklin was tearing up the Southern League. He was 9-for-15 with a homer and two RBIs in four games with Jackson.

"He's elevated his game, like good talents always do," Grifol told the Times. "You challenge them and they elevate their game. The reports we've gotten from Double-A have been unbelievable. He's hitting, hitting with power, playing great defense and he's brought energy to the club. He's a leader. Everything we anticipated, it's happened."

The Mariners selected Franklin with the 27th overall pick in the 2009 Draft, and he saw limited action that summer. But he earned Midwest League midseason and postseason All-Star status in 2010, batting .281 with a league-leading 23 homers, 65 RBIs and 25 stolen bases in 129 games at Class A Clinton.