AJC > Sports > Braves > Blog > Archives > 2008 > January > 04
Friday, January 4, 2008
Thinking of spring training, Francoeur’s future
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
All this bitter cold has me thinking about … Central Florida.
Gently swaying palm trees, the smell of hot dogs on grills and pine tar on bats, the sounds of bats hitting balls and balls popping mitts, the I-4 traffic and effervescent Disney employees — OK, those last two, we aren’t looking forward to.
Anyway, with one week until Braves FanFest, and only 41 days until pitchers and catchers report, it’s about time to start the countdown, don’t ya think?
(Apparently A’s general manager Billy Beane didn’t get the memo about taking some time off during the last few weeks, traditionally the slowest time in the baseball industry. Oakland’s GM did a little late wheeling and dealing while most others were traveling, kicking back, looking over recently tweaked rosters and determining what needs to be done between the holidays and opening day.)
I wouldn’t say I’m entirely ready to pack up and head to Dark Star (Disney) for six weeks of spring training, but I’m at least starting to think about it. Still got plenty of movies and college hoops to watch between now and Feb. 14, reporting day for pitchers & catchers — and ink-stained members of the Fourth Estate.
By the way, for those wondering about who’s gonna be at FanFest next weekend (Jan. 12-13) at the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta: Almost every current Braves player is scheduled to sign autographs at some point during the two-day event, including John Smoltz, Tom Glavine, Chipper Jones, Tim Hudson, Mark Teixeira, Jeff Francoeur, Brian McCann, Kelly Johnson and, yes, non-roster invitee Javy Lopez.
Even rehabbing reliever Mike Gonzalez is on the list the Braves sent me.
Closer Rafael Soriano (he lives in the Dominican Republic), Tyler Yates (Hawaii), Yunel Escobar and Mike Hampton are among the few current players not on the list. The Braves also plan to have coaches and some former Braves in attendance, but haven’t announced those names yet.
The next question those planning to attend might have, is one for which I don’t have an answer: When will this or that particular player be signing?
The Braves don’t plan to release a specific schedule of times for individual players. I’m gonna take a wild guess and speculate it’s because the Braves want max fan attendance throughout the two-day event, rather than big crowds showing up only for autographs by a handful of players. But that’s me speculating.
Speaking of Frenchy…. Came across something I found interesting last night as I was going through stacks of reference books and industry publications in my basement office, throwing out stuff (if you live on my block and were walking your dog late last night, you could have stopped by the boxes I had at the curb and picked up any number of old Stats Inc. Scouting Notebooks, Baseball Abstracts, or 2006 and 2007 media guides for every team).
It’s a January 2005 Baseball America with top 10 prospects for each NL East team. It’s easy to forget how young Fracoeur and McCann are until you read this and realize it was exactly three years ago, and that at the time Francoeur had only 76 at-bats above A-ball and McCann had zero. Think about that.
At that time, in January 2005, David Wright had 263 at-bats (and 14 homers) in the majors for the Mets. I use him for context simply because he’s someone that obviously everyone on this blog is (quite) familiar with, and because some on the ol’ blog sometimes hold Francoeur up against Wright in attempts to point out the former’s deficiencies, since Wright is only 13 months older.
(As if falling short in most offensive categories when compared to one of the very best young players in the game is somehow terrible for Francoeur. Wright finished fourth in the MVP balloting; how many players, period, are on a level with Wright? The vast majority fall short, whether veteran players or kids.)
Anyway, getting back to the BA rankings from Jan. 2005. Francoeur was rated the No. 1 prospect in the Braves organization in that issue, followed by No. 2 Andy Marte, No. 3 McCann, No. 4 Kyle Davies, No. 5 Anthony Lerew, No. 6 Jake Stevens (then a 20-year-old lefty who’d struck out 140 in 135 innings at Rome), No. 7 Luis Hernandez (remember that “can’t miss” shortstop?), No. 8 Kelly Johnson, No. 9 Jarrod Saltalamacchia and No. 10 Blaine Boyer.
(If anything, this list is a reminder of why the Braves don’t mind one bit having a supposed oversupply at one position or another, since inevitably some top prospects aren’t going to pan out.)
The synopsis on Francoeur included this: “One of the purest five-tool players in the minor leagues. Scouts rave about the way he consistently gets the barrel of the bat on the ball. He uses his hands well in his swing and generates tremendous bat speed, which combined with his natural power should enable him to hit 30-plus home runs annually in the majors. Francoeur uses the entire field and used his season at pitcher-friendly Myrtle Beach to his advantage, becoming adept at driving outside pitches the opposite way…. As impressive as his tools may be, Francoeur’s makeup may stand out even more. Of the most competitive players in the organization, he’s a fiery team leader, which could be just what the big league team needs.”
Among his weaknesses, the report said, “Francoeur’s greatest need is to show more patience at the plate, and at this point it appears to be the only flaw in his game…. The Braves don’t want him to change his aggressive approach, but he understands that better strike-zone discipline will make him an even more dangerous hitter.”
And there was this on his future: “Longtime Atlanta officials continue to compare Francoeur to Dale Murphy, and his swagger is more reminiscent of Chipper Jones. He’s an exciting player who gives the game every ounce of his energy every time he takes the field. His natural ability and approach could make him a 30-30 man and an all-start for the Braves. Even if he’s moved at a conservative pace, he should get his first taste of the big leagues by the end of 2006.”
A couple of things jump out at us: Francoeur got his first taste of the big leagues long before the end of 2006. Hell, he’d already been on the cover of Sports Illustrated by late-summer 2005.
A 30-30 man? Where did that come from? He never stole more than 16 bases in a season in the minors, so to think he’d steal twice as many in the majors was unrealistic. His career high so far was last year’s five, and stolen bases are never going to be a significant part of his game, nor do the Braves expect them to be.
Now the other part of 30-30, I can certainly see. Francoeur hit 29 homers in his first full season in 2006, then dipped to 19 last year while he increased his average from .260 to .293, his OBP from .293 to .338 and his doubles from 24 to 40, and had his second 100-RBI season (he had 103 in 2006, 105 in ’07.
Now comes the balancing part. The Braves were thrilled with Francoeur’s development last season, with the strides he made to become a better and more patient overall hitter. He was happy, too, with everything except the power decline.
That’s why Francoeur went into the offseason determined to add some muscle through weight training and a better diet, to give him more power and muscle stamina that he could sustain over the course of a 162-game season (and with him it’s truly a 162-game season; he’s played every game for the past two years).
It’ll be interesting to see if he’s pleased with the results, since he’s had to fit his workout regimen around getting married and all that goes with that.
Francoeur knows he still needs to keep improving on his plate discipline and using the entire field, since he’s always more productive and a tougher out during those stretches when he’s staying in his approach, hitting line drives and using the whole field, not trying to pull balls over the left-field fence.
Again, it’s a balancing act. He wants to be a 30-homer guy, because he knows he can help the team by providing another legit power-hitting threat pitchers have to be concerned with (not to mention, he probably knows you get paid a lot for hitting homers). But he also wants to maintain an average between .280-.300.
With so much attention understandably directed toward the return of Glavine, the situation with Teixeira, the huge question mark in center field, and other matters with the Braves, it’s possible that much of their success could also ride on the continued development of their right fielder, who’s now the veteran of the Braves outfield, a Gold Glove winner, the team’s union player rep, and a team spokesman on many matters. That leadership is emerging, more and more. He’s made for that role.
Now, it’ll be interesting to see how the future continues to unfold for former Atlanta-area prep phenom, the can’t-miss prospect, the newlywed, the energetic, upbeat kid who so far been able to thrive despite nearly impossible expectations some have for him.
Oh, and it’ll obviously be interesting to see if and when he and the Braves come to a multi-year contract agreement that could both cement his status as a face of the franchise and possibly lift at least a little of the pressure off his sizeable shoulders.
And now, a tune…. Been listening to a lot of Replacements and Westerberg lately. Which makes me wonder how I ever go long stretches without doing so. The man’s remarkable.
”ALL THAT I HAD” by Paul Westerberg
King and queen
Full and twin
Leave the key
It’s time to move again
Brand new lease
New set of locks
This end up
Ten city blocks
I gave it up for a room in a box
And I gave all that I had
It’s taken some bad times to show me
I gave all that I had
It’s taken some bad times to show me
I’m doing fine
I’m doing fine
Life is simple or it’s impossible
You always half empty
You ain’t never half full even now
Me and yesterday hopped on a track
I swear to God neither of us ever coming back
And I gave all that I had
It’s taken some bad times to show me
I gave all that I had
It’s taken some bad times to show me
I’m doing fine
I’m doing fine
And I gave all that I can
Every time
Didn’t follow my dreams
I lost the map
I live my fantasy instead
Till I found it was a trap
Gave a life, got a living
Hey that’s all right
All is forgiven
I gave all that I had
It’s taken some bad times to show me
I gave all that I had
It’s taken some bad times to show me
I gave all that I had
It’s taken some bad times to show me
I gave all that I had
It’s taken some bad times to show me
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