Jeff Francoeur

After living through the worst season of baseball in his young life, Jeff Francoeur decided that he would dedicate this past offseason to changing his approach at the plate. Only 12 games into this young season, he leads the Braves in at-bats and is hitting .333 with a team-high 10 RBI.

How does a player that put up such an abysmal line (11 HR, 71 RBI, 111 SO, and a .239 AVG) just one year ago turn around to become the best offensive player on the team?

For Francoeur, the answer was only 800 miles away, via Texas hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo.

Following their worst season since Bobby Cox became the manager in 1990, all signs point to the Atlanta Braves returning to their typical spot near the top of the National League East in 2009.

Derek Lowe’s debut for the Braves was one to remember.

Lowe threw eight innings of shut out ball in Philadelphia’s Citizen Bank Ballpark. He only gave up two hits and struck out four Phillies batters. He was the highlight on defense for Atlanta.

Hitting was a completely different story. In the first, catcher Brian McCann hit a two-run home run off of starter Brett Myers to give the Braves an early 2-0 lead.

In round 22, I drafted Jeff Francoeur.

Some laughed. Some questioned the call. However, as Francoeur sits in spring training with a .333 BA and a .389 OBP in 30 ABs.

I call my decision genius.

After batting just .239 in 2008, many consider Francoeur a star gone bad.

The fact is that he is a special guy. 

Francoeur has talent. He can hit. He can throw. He can track down fly balls. He has great ability. The problem is translating that into the game.

Four years ago a phenomenal young Atlantan worked his way onto the Atlanta Braves' roster.

The wedding and honeymoon went wonderfully for Jeff Francouer and his hometown ballclub. But unfortunately for both parties, things went sour fast in 2008.

Last season, Francoeur was booed loudly. This was after being a fan favorite since his MLB debut, in which he hit a three-run home run and quickly vaulted himself into the starting lineup.

Francoeur was sent down to Double-A Mississippi for a stint after being completely ineffective for much of the season's first half.