Jerry Crasnick at ESPN has a good article on former prospects clinging to life in the majors. Naturally your first thought is Jeff Francoeur, and naturally he is in there. The entire article is a good read, and it includes Atlanta-product Jeremy Hermida, as well. But the Francoeur part just makes me angry all over again.
↵↵↵"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." -- Braves third baseman Chipper Jones in August 2005 after Francoeur hit .432 in his first three weeks with the Braves.
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Stephania Bell of ESPN has an injury report from Braves camp. It lists those of importance, such as Jason Heyward's groin, Chipper Jones and the knee, and Jair Jurrjens' performance so far. Speaking of which, Jurrjens does seem to be in much better shape this spring after losing weight and gaining muscle over the winter. Hopefully that's a sign of increased durability this season.
↵ESPN's Stats & Info Blog featured the Braves yesterday. It speaks on Chipper's lack of drive on balls away, which is certainly visible when he's fooled, but especially over the past couple years. He is still making contact like a fool, but the power away isn't what it once was. Also mentioned is Craig Kimbrel taking over the closer's role. It also has a section by SB Nation friend Ben Duronio, who wrote on the dynamic duo of Freddie Freeman and Jason Heyward.
↵Mike Axisa has a stat worth checking out.
↵h/t: Talking Chop