Monday, May 23, 2005
Jeff Francis Turning Heads In Colorado
Canadian lefty a bright spot in bleak Rockies season
Things were not expected to go well for the Rockies this season. After posting their second worst record in franchise history in 2004 (68-94) the Rockies and General Manager Dan O'Dowd knew the organization had to take a different direction after years of ineptness. The Rockies have decided to try to develop players within their system instead of spending lavishly on free agents and hoping for quick fixes. The rebuild is officially on and that means even more struggles for a franchise that has not had very much success since joining the National League in 1993.
Going into Monday's play, the Rockies have a dismal record of 13-28 and are sitting 12 full games behind the first place Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League West. One would be led to believe that there have been no bright spots for the Rockies so far this season but that is certainly not the case. One of their home grown products is starting to make his mark in the major leagues.
Jeff Francis, a Canadian from North Delta, British Columbia who was drafted ninth overall by the Rockies in 2002, is sporting an impressive record of 4-1. Somebody forgot to tell Francis that Coors Field is a pitcher's nightmare and that nobody is supposed to have any kind of sustained success there. Dating back to his major league callup late last season, the left hander is undefeated at Coors Field sporting a record of 5-0 with an ERA of 2.78. Francis is 3-0 at home this season with an ERA of 2.92. The 24 year old left-hander is getting some attention and has at least given Rockies fans a reason to pay attention to their team-once every five days anyway.
Francis was Baseball America's 2004 Minor League Player of the Year. His first professional season (2002) ended early when he was struck in the head by a line drive while sitting in the dugout. After struggling early in 2003 Francis began to dominate the minor leagues finishing off the season with 10 wins in his final 17 starts at Class A Visilia. Francis began the 2004 campaign in the Texas League at AA Tulsa and proceeded to go 13-1 with a 1.98 ERA. It was clear then that Francis' minor league career was going to be a relatively short one. He then made the jump to AAA Colorado Springs and finished up the season by going 3-2 with a 2.85 ERA. He fanned 213 batters over 170 innings at three different levels of professional baseball in 2004. Francis knew he would be given a chance this spring to make the big club and he took full advantage of the opportunity. He made the club and needless to say he has not looked back.
This past Thursday Francis took the mound at Coors Field against the San Francisco Giants and pitched the kind of game that is rarely seen in the Mile High City. Where home runs and high scoring games are the norm, Francis gave up one run over six innings, giving up 7 hits and striking out 5 Giants. The Rockies bullpen delivered as three relievers closed out the game preserving Francis' fourth win of the season.
Francis is listed at 6 feet five inches and 200 pounds. It is hard to believe there is that much weight on his sleight frame and he doesn't even look close to being as old as his drivers license states. His fastball is routinely below 90 MPH and curve balls tend to not curve in the thin air of Denver. So how is Francis being successful? He is doing it with a devastating change-up and hitting his target. He also takes the mound at Coors Field with the confidence that he can pitch well there and is showing maturity rarely seen by players-let alone pitchers in their first full major league season.
Canadian born baseball players are starting to have an impact at the major league level. As Larry Walker winds down a long successful career that includes an MVP award, 2 batting titles and several Gold Glove awards, the next wave of Canucks are starting to show that hockey is not the only sport that is played north of the border.
Jason Bay of the Pittsburgh Pirates, another British Columbia product, became the first Canadian to win the NL Rookie of the Year award when he was given the honor in 2004. It was the second consecutive year that a Canadian born player would win a MLB major post season award as Eric Gagne won the NL Cy Young award in 2003. Other Canadian stand-outs are Justin Morneau who is an imposing figure in the Minnesota Twins lineup and left-hander Erik Bedard who has helped solidify a Baltimore Orioles rotation that was suspect going into the 2005 season.
Jeff Francis has his sights set on the NL Rookie of the Year award in 2005 and it isn't hard to believe that he might one day be a Cy Young Award candidate if the Rockies become contenders.
After wasting millions and millions of dollars on pitchers such as Mike Hampton and Denny Neagle the Rockies should be proud of a player from their own system who is flourishing in a pitchers graveyard. Rockies fans should expect to go to opening day for the next several seasons and find Jeff Francis on the bump and watching his change-up sail around tombstones of pitchers who have died at Coors Field.
If Francis continues to pitch the way he has, Tony LaRussa will be hard pressed to leave him off the National League roster when the 2005 All Star Game heads to Detroit and Comerica Park in July.
posted by Dean Swanton 9:44 AM
