New York Mets Fan Blog

The Mets hidden problem

Most Mets fans would quickly admit that they follow a very flawed team. They lack reliable starting pitching beyond Mike Pelfrey and Johan Santana, their offense without Carlos Beltran has been inconsistent at best. One problem that hasn’t received enough publicity, however, is the presence of New York’s free-swinging right-fielder, Jeff Francoeur. Many members of the media, and many Mets fans, immediately latched onto Francoeur upon his arrival last season as a glimmer of hope in an otherwise awful season.

While many people who follow the Mets might consider Francoeur to be an asset, a look at his stats reveal that this is simply not the case. According to fangraphs.com, Francoeur swings at a mind-boggling 44% of the pitches that are thrown out of the strike zone. To put that another way, Francoeur turns half of the pitches that he sees which aren’t in the strike zone into strikes. Francoeur also swings at an incredible 60% of the total pitches he sees. With statistics like these, it’s not surprising that he is unable to have successful at-bats. After Francoeur’s successful rookie season, it is clear that pitchers around Major League Baseball quickly realized that throwing Francoeur a strike was not necessary in order to get him out. Francoeur has done nothing but confirm that impression, as he continuously swings at pitches that are well out of the strike zone. As if to make matters worse, Francoeur has an uncanny ability to make contact with pitches out of the strike zone has led to a parade of weakly-hit popups. Until Francoeur displays the ability to work pitch counts and swing at hittable pitches within the strike zone, it’s unlikely that he will ever develop into a productive Major League Hitter.

Although Francoeur is, by all accounts, a great guy and an even better teammate, the fact that he is nearly an automatic out who longer serves as a serious power threat outweighs any of the benefits that his personality might bring.

by Nathan Eagan at the Sports Fan Blog Network

June 1, 2010 - Posted by nathaneagan12 | Jeff Francoeur, Original Content | Jeff Francoeur, New York Mets | No Comments Yet