FTW

Canadian Content: Jeff Francis

After missing the entire 2008 season, Jeff Francis pitched a dandy against the… Washington Nationals.  Wait, you’re telling me that the Nationals have scored one fewer run than the Cardinals and two fewer than the Angels?  That’s what you get for wearing a White Sox cap to the Natty’s opener, Mr. Obama.  Karma, my friend, karma.

Francis put together seven solid innings of one-run ball on his way to striking out six and walking a pair of Nats’ hitters.  Realistically, the outcome and the opponent aren’t all that important.  What is important is Francis’ velocity — he hasn’t lost a step, averaged 88mph on his fastball — and his control on the off-speed stuff.

Francis located well and had terrific movement on his deadly change-up and a tad of extra sink on the fastball.  A third of his pitches last night were change-ups and almost half were off-speed non-fastballs.

Going forward, other than the injury risk, Francis looks like a damn solid option in deeper leagues.

There’s no harm giving Francis a try, his next start is against Kansas City after all.