Jeff Francoeur: The Natural to the Bum (and Hopefully Back Again)

I don't know about anyone else, but I can remember Jeff Francoeur's first hit.

It was the second game of a doubleheader against the Chicago Cubs on July 7, 2005.

He was a 21-year-old kid.

The game had blurred by, and then everything slowed down in the eight inning during Jeff's third at-bat (and his third standing ovation).

I don't remember the pitcher, or the pitch, but I do remember that stroke—and Corey Patterson's back to the camera.

It was a three-run homer to put the Bravos on top.

He went on to hit 13 more home runs in 70 games that year, as he and the other Baby Braves led the team to their 14th consecutive division title, and his face brandished the cover of Sports Illustrated with "The Natural" beneath his face.

His lines for the next two years were (Games/AVG/HR/RBI/SB BB:K):

2008 was supposed to be the year he combined the two emboldened stats.

But, as all of us Braves fans know, that didn't quite happen.

Instead of 160/.293/29/115/3 and 3:5, it was:

155/.239/11/71/0     39:111 (along with a short trip to Mississippi)

Pretty depressing, no?

Like many of you, I am getting a little irked by his, ahem, "development" (more like regression).  He had showed so much promise in his first few years, and the shortcomings in some stat columns were forgivable.

Last year, he got figured out by pitchers (he'll swing at ANY breaking-ball away and can't get a hold of it), but made no adjustments.  However, this spring, despite the low batting average, all reports indicate that he is starting to watch a few more outside breaking balls.

Does this mean anything?

Probably not, but it could, hopefully, be indicating some sort of maturation.

His regression can also be linked to, at least in my opinion, his first pitch aggressiveness.

Before, he would swing and actually made decent contact.

Then, once again, hurlers figured him out and threw waste pitches to get ahead in the count.

Am I saying that this is necessarily a bad thing?  Absolutely not.  If he can hit it, let him swing, but if it's in the dugout, well, he probably shouldn't.

If he can find a balance between these two (patience and his natural first-pitch ability), then he could be a hitter like some thought he would be last year.

However, I do find that a bit unlikely, and lean more towards 2006 as his true identity, which would be more than serviceable out of the cleanup spot.  A guy that can hit homers in the high-twenties with an OK average is exactly what you want behind your high-OBP and -average guys.

I hope Jeff can turn it around, and if he can, then this lineup has a true power threat.

But, if he can't, Jason Heyward, Gorkys Hernandez, and Jordan Schafer are waiting in the wings.