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He's not gonna take it: Jeff Francoeur's aggressive approach at the plate has made him a leading contender for N.L. Rookie of the Year

Sporting News, The, Sept 23, 2005 by Ray Glier

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This was the season the window of opportunity finally seemed to be opening for the rest of the National League East: The Braves, winners of 13 consecutive division titles, clearly showed some cracks.

Dan Kolb was signed to take over John Smoltz's role as closer but couldn't handle the job. The club signed a pair of veteran outfielders, Brian Jordan and Raul Mondesi, but neither performed well. Then came the injuries. Chipper Jones, out six weeks. Mike Hampton, four trips to the disabled list. John Thomson, out three months. By mid-June, the Braves were in fourth place, one game over .500.

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Then the team's farm system started churning. In a span of six weeks, it spit out starting pitcher Kyle Davies, catcher Brian McCann, reliever Blaine Boyer and outfielders Kelly Johnson and Jeff Francoeur. Amazingly, all but Johnson are from the Atlanta area. Two other rookies, outfielder Ryan Langerhans and shortstop Wilson Betemit, started the season in the majors and assumed key roles early.

With a slam, the window of opportunity came down on the fingertips of the rest of the division. The Braves took over first place with a 3-2 victory over the Nationals on July 26. By August 1, Atlanta's lead was 4 1/2 games.

The only hole the Braves didn't repair by promoting a minor leaguer was closer. They fixed that by trading two prospects to the Tigers for Kyle Farnsworth and his 98-mph fastball.

"I'll tell you why they were able to get a guy like Farnsworth," says a major league scout. "I have a list of 15 of their prospects I would trade for, and that's not even counting the four or five who have been up like McCann, Francoeur or Johnson."

The Braves got their rich talent collection systematically.

"They develop them; says Howie McCann, who runs Winward Baseball Academy in the Atlanta area and is the father of the Braves' rookie catcher. "When they go to the instructional league in the fall, it is to play baseball. They are there six weeks playing games, and the whole front office will go down there, including (G.M. John) Schuerholz, to evaluate players. You've got to learn to play every day, and they learn a lot about a kid's makeup and whether he can survive the rigors of the game."

Though many preseason predictions pegged the Marlins for the top of the N.L. East in 2005, expect the Braves to be favored at the start of 2006.

"They could be favored for a lot of years;' says another scout.--R.G.

Late-developing race

Because Jeff Francoeur was not called up until July, he's not a lock for N.L. Rookie of the Year. Of course, only one of the ether leading candidates started the season in the majors.

Jeff Francoeur, RF, Braves

Hit a 3-run homer in his first game and hasn't looked back.

Willy Taveras, CF, Astrus

Leads N.L rookies in hits, runs and stolen bases and has been with the team since the start of the season.

Zach Duke, LHP, Pirates

Called up on July 1, Duke won his first six decisions and posted a 1.81 ERA. But a sprained ankle ended his chances.

He's not gonna take it: Jeff Francoeur's aggressive approach at the plate has made him a leading contender for N.L. Rookie of the Year

Sporting News, The, Sept 23, 2005 by Ray Glier

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