Jeff Francoeur Update

It is that time again. When we last left Jeff Francoeur, he had finally ended his career slump and bettered his previous month's hitting totals. At the end of the post, I asked what it was about Jeff Francoeur that kept him from being sent down to the minors for someone who can actually play right field at an above replacement level pace.

Nothing would have made me happier than for the answer to have been that Francoeur has pictures of Bobby Cox and Leo Mazzone in compromising positions, which led to Mazzone's departure to Baltimore, but that is not the case. The real answer is absolutely nothing.

Fresh off the end of his slump, Francoeur has decided now June was the perfect month to start himself off with another slump, hitting .239/.269/.398 after hitting .280/.295/.496 in May and a month that is probably more in line with what kind of hitter Francoeur really is. Even Francoeur's isolate power, his one saving grace, has taken a hit in June, falling from .216 all the way to .159. So just how bad a player is Francoeur?

Right now, his VORP (Value over Replacement Player) is -8.8, good for last on the Braves. He is still a below-average right fielder despite his arm strength with -2 FRAR. On the bright side, he does have 1 BRAR.

The most troubling aspect of Francoeur's resume (apart from his meager 3.17 P/PA) is that he has also seen the most plate appearances among all Atlanta Braves, 11% of them to be exact. When your worst hitter is also the one getting the lion's share of your team's plate appearances, mediocrity is sure to follow.

If the Atlanta Braves had not already mailed in the season, maybe we should see the leash on Jeff Francoeur pulled a little tighter.