He's a great fielder, and has some good pop in his bat. But he's only getting on base at a .328 clip, which prevents him from being anything better than average. Sammy Sosa had the same problem as a youngster, but he learned to take pitches. Will Francoeur do the same, or is he always going to be a low-OBP hacker?
2007-07-17 05:34:58 · 6 answers · asked by Craig S 7 in Sports ➔ Baseball
Jeff Francoeur is hitting .288 this year with 70 strikeouts. But, as you have pointed out, it does not tell the true story. He has only taken 21 BB's all year long because he is just as you say, "a low-OBP hacker. I am not sure that he will ever change his aggressive style at the plate and I expect him to continue swinging at bad pitches to the utter dismay of his hitting coach. It is really too bad because I believe he really has a lot of talent to go along with his down side style of hitting.
2007-07-17 05:49:41 · answer #1 · answered by Frizzer 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Patience!?! See Beltran comment, except Francoeur is a tad better with a much better arm (minus, of course, speed on bases). How about this -- "selective hacking"? Nobody really worries about Vlad's personal strike zone being ankles to helmet, and if they do, they shouldn't. Francoeur, after a few more years, will be a 40 HR, .325 "hacker" and I'll be glad of it. A few dozen less strikeouts would be good, but that'll come in time.
2007-07-17 13:45:22 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not all guys are meant to be patient hitters. Francoeur may very well be one of those guys. Francoeur reminds me now of the way Beltran is. Very good defensively and just too overanxious and impatient at the plate and ends up swinging at bad pitches. Hopefully for both of us, those guys can turn it around and make the NL East a battle of good teams instead of a battle of mediocre teams.
2007-07-17 12:46:16 · answer #3 · answered by J-Far 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually he is learning as he gets more experience. Look at the numbers. He has almost as many walks this year and he did in 162 games last year. So he is improving slowly but surely. If you watch any games you will also see that he isn't just a lumberjack up their like he has been in the past. Sometimes he reverts to that but look at Andruw who has been in the league for years. Old habits can only be subdued, but not truly broken. Andruw has done it for so long though. Hopefully Frenchy can be broken of that while he is still young.
2007-07-17 12:46:06 · answer #4 · answered by Veritas et Aequitas () 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
he has actually improved much from last year.also he is a clutch player but sometimes he will chase bad balls and try to pull some pitches he shouldn't when he is trying to do to much.
2007-07-17 14:17:55 · answer #5 · answered by NONAME 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
probably not, he was and probably always will be a power hitter and will be like a adam dunn.
2007-07-17 13:01:04 · answer #6 · answered by Coral Reef Forum 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋