ESPN's Jerry Crasnick wrote a great piece about the so-called "can't-miss prospect." One interesting excerpt is an old quote from Chipper Jones about then teammate Jeff Francoeur:
"He's going to be a superstar, no doubt about it. He'll be the next Dale Murphy. If he continues to hit and play the outfield like he has for the first 20 or so games of his career, we're going to be talking about more than that."
-- Chipper Jones, 2005
Well, a funny thing happened on the way to stardom. NL hurlers figured out that Mr. Francoeur never met a pitch he didn't like. I don't care how great your "tools" are, nothing sandbags a career like poor plate discipline.
It's 2011, and Francoeur is starting over with the Kansas City Royals. He's only 27, so there's still time for him to get back on track. However, with a career onbase percentage of .310, I wouldn't hold my breath.
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