Jeff Francoeur Frenchy’s mired in a 5-31 slump that’s dropped his average to .263. Despite the slow start there are some legitimate reasons for optimism surrounding Francoeur. He’s improved his EYE up to .50, largely thanks to a significant drop in his K Rate (down from 18.5% to 8.5%). Furthermore the drop in his K Rate hasn’t corresponded in a drop in his power as his extra base hit rate has actually improved. He’s also suffering from some abnormally bad luck as evidenced by his .191 BHIP%. All are good signs for Frenchy and suggest he makes for an excellent buy-low target, start putting proposals together now because the bat’s going to heat up and the power’s going to come in bunches.

Chris Iannetta: Iannetta’s a guy that a number of us here have maintained confidence in despite the early season playing time concerns and now it’s time to instruct you to transition from “keeping an eye on him” to “going out and getting him”. In fact when writing the Value Picks column earlier this week I had a tough decision who to choose between Snyder and Iannetta but went with Snyder because I felt bigger things were on the verge immediately. Iannetta’s got an intriguing bat, highlighted by his .303/.407/.508 career minor league line, and now it appears he’s got the playing time to go with it. Iannetta’s received 3 or more plate appearances in 5 consecutive games and was a late insert into Thursday’s lineup as manager Clint Hurdle wanted to keep the hot bat in the lineup. Iannetta promptly rewarded Hurdle with a 2 RBI 1B in the first inning. Rockie hitters are always worth a look and one with the minor league history that Iannetta has REALLY deserves a look. He’s another guy who has a chance to be a Top 10 catching option from here on out because of the favorable home park and lineup. He should absolutely be owned in all 2 catcher formats and is the type of guy I prefer to try to catch lightening in a bottle with rather than investing in the boring and relatively unproductive veteran catchers like Pierzynski, Varitek, Pudge, etc.....continue reading