Jeff Francoeur burst onto the Atlanta baseball scene in 2005, a homegrown talent with huge upside potential. He showed some value in 70 games that season after being called up, but really exploded in 2006 with 29 home runs and 103 RBI. The next season was another growing year as he brought his batting average up to .293 and still hit 19 home runs and 105 RBI. His 2008 season should have been another growth -- almost breakout -- season. But, something different happened.Francoeur really regressed in 2008. His batting average dropped to .239 and he only hit 11 home runs. An even worse blow came when Francoeur, for the first time since being promoted to the big leagues, was sent to the minors. He returned from Mississippi quickly as injuries forced the Braves to recall the right fielder, but he still floundered in Atlanta. The question remains why...
Francoeur has always been a free swinger. Since his first game in Atlanta, everyone knew that he was going to get his hacks in. He struck out 111 times in 599 at-bats last season, and his poor on-base percentage can be attributed to the fact that he's never had a walk rate above 6.1 percent.
Another issue for Francoeur, and it's gotten worse each season, is the fact that he swings at pitches outside of the strike zone. In 2006, Francoeur swung at pitches in the strike zone 85.6 percent of the time. That rate dropped to 76.1 percent in 2008. Even though he made strides to stop swinging at so many pitches, something that most thought would help him, he seemed to err in pitch selection. He stopped swinging at pitches in the strike zone while continuing to swing at the same amount of pitches outside of the strike zone (36.3 percent in 2008). That was a recipe for disaster.
This spring, however, things are looking different for the 25-year-old outfielder. Francoeur changed his swing in the offseason.
Francoeur changed things in the offseason, losing some bulk, getting in better baseball conditioning, and altering his swing during a three-day tutorial with a hitting coach in Texas. The basic differences: Less hand movement, and more "open" with the front shoulder, which Francoeur said allows him to see pitches better with both eyes.And it's looking like it's beginning to pay huge dividends. In 40 Grapefruit League at-bats, Francoeur is batting .350 with two doubles and nine RBI. Most importantly, he's walked six times and only struck out once. Re-read that last statement. If you know anything about Jeff Francoeur, you'll be amazed at that statistic. As he gets used to his new batting stance, he's showing that he's able to make quick decisions and even change his mind in certain situations.
If the 2009 version of Jeff Francoeur resembles the spring version, fantasy GM's who take a gamble on him are going to be very happy. He's currently being selected in the 22nd round of fantasy drafts with an average draft position of 256.19. I'm starting to believe in Francoeur as each spring game passes. He's a superb value pick in the 22nd round and is starting to become a must-draft in mixed leagues.
