Braves Option Francoeur to AA

[dms269]

Braves option Francoeur to Double-A
Outfielder sent down to Mississippi to recover, refine swing

The Braves look to bring Jeff Francoeur back to the big league club after the All-Star break.

ATLANTA -- There was a time when it seemed unfathomable to believe Jeff Francoeur would ever be sent back to the Minors. But over the next two weeks, the struggling outfielder will return to his roots and look to relocate his lost swing.
Hoping a reduced-stress environment will prove helpful, the Braves have optioned Francoeur to Double-A Mississippi. The 24-year-old outfielder is expected to be in the lineup for Friday night's game against Chattanooga.

After Thursday night's loss to the Phillies at Turner Field, Braves general manager Frank Wren, assistant general manger Bruce Manno and manager Bobby Cox all met with Francoeur to discuss this decision. Their intention is to bring him back to the Major League club when play resumes after the All-Star break.

Replacing Francoeur on the 25-man roster will be former Georgia Tech product Jason Perry, a 27-year-old outfielder who has combined to hit .309 with 18 homers and a .613 slugging percentage with Mississippi and Triple-A Richmond this year.

Francoeur didn't immediately respond to a text message and phone call on Friday morning. But after MLB.com first revealed on Wednesday night that the Braves were discussing this transaction, he made it known that he was both hurt and angry.

Since the start of the 2006 season, Francoeur has started a Major League-high 408 games. Before resting during the second game of a May 20 doubleheader against the Mets, he had played in a Major League-high 370 consecutive games, each of which he had started. The only other game he didn't start this year came on June 22, when he did have a pinch-hit appearance against the Mariners.

Oddly, this transaction comes just three days shy of the third anniversary of when Francoeur was promoted from Mississippi to make his memorable Major League debut. He homered against the Cubs on that July 7, 2005 night to mark the beginning of a strong rookie season. When he graced the cover of Sports Illustrated in August of that year, the cover's headline read "The Natural."

This year, most everything has looked unnatural for Francoeur, who excitedly arrived at Spring Training with 15 extra pounds that he hoped would help increase his power numbers. But his excitement has waned as he's hit just .234 with a .287 on-base percentage and .374 slugging percentage this season.

While at Turner Field for last week's series against the Brewers, one American League scout said that he had never seen another player who was struggling so much from a mechanical perspective.

At the behest of hitting coach Terry Pendleton, Francoeur has recently been arriving early on a daily basis for extra batting practice. But while hitting just .121 with a .183 on-base percentage and .136 slugging percentage in his last 18 games, the frustrated outfielder hasn't realized any improvement.

Given a chance to work on his mechanics while not worrying so much about results in Mississippi, Francoeur may be able to realize his desired improvement.

After hitting .293 last year and enjoying a second consecutive season with at least 100 RBIs, Francoeur entered this season with great anticipation. He got married to his high school sweetheart during the offseason and was hoping the Braves might give him a multiyear contract before the end of Spring Training.

When a deal wasn't reached, Francoeur still looked forward to the potential money he might gain when he became arbitration-eligible at the conclusion of this season.

Multiple times this year, Francoeur has indicated that he hasn't had the same amount of fun that he did during his first three Major League seasons, but never has he said he's been pressing too hard simply because of his potential future salary.

Earlier this week, Francoeur's best friend, catcher Brian McCann, was one of the Braves players who pointed out this was the first time in his life that the outfielder had struggled in this manner.

Growing up in suburban Atlanta, Francoeur was named Georgia's state player of the year in both football and baseball. After less than one full season in the Majors, he was named to the Team USA squad that played in the 2006 inaugural World Baseball Classic.

Then last year, after tying for the Major League lead with 19 outfield assists, he was awarded his first career Gold Glove. This year, the five outfield assists recorded by the stong-armed right fielder ranks 15th among all Major League outfielders.

Some scouts have questioned Francoeur's mobility and wondered if the extra weight has limited his range.

From an offensive standpoint, the Braves haven't seen the power Francoeur produced in 2006, when he hit .260 with 29 homers, a .293 on-base percentage and .449 slugging percentage. Nor have they seen the enhanced consistency he showed last year, while hitting 19 homers, with a .338 on-base percentage and .444 slugging percentage.

Also proving frustrating for the Braves is the fact they haven't seen the same clutch-hitting ability that Francoeur showed during his first couple of seasons. He has hit .198 (20-for-101) with runners in scoring position and has just two hits in 20 at-bats with the bases loaded.

Francoeur's .662 OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage) also provides reason for concern. The only three National League outfielder with a worse mark are Houston's Michael Bourn, Colorado's Willy Taveras and Los Angeles' Juan Pierre, who are all speed specialists with very little power.

Link

[HMFFL]

I don't like some of the quotes I read from Jeff. It appears he needs to mature some while he's in the minors! He needs to accept the fact that he's hurting the Braves and stop acting as if the organization is against him.

[MagicMadness]

He's hurt and angry?

Not the response I was hoping for, considering how poorly he was doing. I thought he would welcome the change of pace, and a chance to re-tool some things in a less stressful environment.

[HMFFL]

Francoeur rejoining Braves in L.A.

Right fielder's demotion to AA ball lasts only 3 days

"It had everything to do with the four hits he had yesterday and seven hits he had in three days and starting to relax," Braves general manager Frank Wren said Monday. "It was not until we had our call with the coaches this morning we had made the decision. It was not predicated on injuries at all. When we felt like he was comfortable swinging the bat and looking like his old self, we wanted to bring him back."

Link

This is just stupid to me. Jeff cries about being sent down and now he gets brought back up after only three days?

He could very well come back and get on a hot streak, but I wanted to see him down there longer, and the Braves even said he would be there until the All-Star break.

Grow some balls Frank!

[dms269]

It is pretty stupid. he cries about being sent down and then gets the call-up. What kind of message does thsi send to your prospects? If you suck just complain enough to get your way.

I would find it hilarious if he comes up then goes on a long hitless streak.

[bravesatl]

i dont usually agree with john kruk on baseball tonight but he said it very well about this....

[MagicMadness]

From the article:

"I'm just glad to have it over with," said Francoeur, who found out Monday morning he was going back up. "It's one of those things I'm going to forget about. It won't do me any good to think about what happened. I need to go out and swing the bat and help the team."

I don't get it. Does he not understand that being sent down was not a punishment of some sorts, rather a chance for the young hitter to regain form?

He was 1-5 in last night's "debut".

[dbenton]

Jeff Francoeur is just a mystery to me. I don't understand his dramatic drop-off this year with my only reason being he has never worked on eliminating the holes in his swing, which have been present since he came up. I also agree he needs to start maturing. The organization did him a favor by sending him down and not just outright benching him for a few games in his hometown.