Scouting Report Position by Position- Jeff Francoeur

Jeff Francoeur- #12

26 years old
6'4" 220 pounds
6th Major League Season
Bats R/Throws R

The Good: He has a lot of energy and does a lot of interviews to take pressure off the other players. Has a strong arm in RF. He plays every day (which I would debate isn't necessarily a positive, but...), and has averaged 15 HRs over the past 3 years (hit 29 HRs in 2006). Line drive % jumped since coming over to the Mets and working with Hojo to restore his bat speed. He likes the ball down and wants to pull it.

The Bad: Had 23 walks last year. Saw 3.34 pitches per plate appearance last year, which was 5th worst in the NL. His line drive #s jumped to a career-best 25% last year, but there is no data that shows that that can be sustained year over year (line drive % varies and regresses to a mean). Defensive metrics showed he was a below average outfielder last year. For more stats that show he is not a good baseball player, refer back to this post I made in December (Jeff Francoeur- December 1, 2009). He has a very long swing. Career slash stats: .271/.311/.432 (so as you can see from the numbers of an average RF last year, he is below average).

Projected Role: Starting RF until his line drive rate drops, he continues not to walk, and people in NY realize what Atlanta said last year, "he stinks". Thankfully the Mets didn't give him a multi-year deal, YET...

My Projected Stats: 680 plate appearances,  20 walks, 70 runs, 16 HRs, 80 RBIs, .270/.315/.425.

As a reference, MLB Right Fielders average last year: .272/.346/.447

That wraps up the starting outfield for the Mets. Here are the links to the other 2 starters.
Carlos Beltran
Jason Bay

I will be posting the other outfielders scouting reports in the next 36 hours, and move quickly onto the pitchers.


2 weeks from today until Mets Opening Day!