1. Jeff Francoeur—Atlanta Braves
It feels like just yesterday that fantasy baseball owners around the country were clamoring to get the Braves right-fielder, who was coming off a extremely productive second full season (19 home runs, 105 RBI,) on their roster
Then, Francoeur had to go out and push all of those unlucky owners who had won the bidding war to the edge of a cliff by having the clunker season of all clunker seasons.
Most baseball fans knew that Francoeur didn't see many pitches that he didn't like, but most people were willing to overlook his free-swinging attitude in favor of his power numbers. Plus, plate discipline has been known to increase as a player plays more seasons.
But, after 42 walks in 2007, Francoeur walked just 39 times in 2008. Couple that statistic with the rest of his line—.239 BA, .294 OBP, .359 SLG, and just 11 home runs and 71 RBI—and you have one of the more noticeably disappointing seasons any player has had without experiencing any injury.
Francoeur even was forced to cope with a mid-season demotion to the minor leagues to try and right the ship.
His regression put a major dent in the Braves offense and conversely, their playoff aspirations.
But, luckily for Atlanta, bat speed and power don't just disappear after one batting season.
Francoeur apparently has been working on his hitting in the off-season, primarily adjusting his batting stance so that he can remain more balanced in the batter's box and keep his hands back.
His hard work should help him return to his 2006 and 2007 form, when he was a feared hitter in the middle of the lineup.
But he still needs to work on becoming a little more selective, and recognizing off-speed and breaking pitches earlier. Until he does that, his full potential will not be realized.
2. Robinson Cano—New York Yankees
Yet another player who suffers from the free-swinging disease that plagues Francoeur, Cano walked only 26 times in the 2008 season, joining the elite company of Freddy Sanchez and Jose Lopez as second basemen who had a full season's worth of at-bats—
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