Jeff Francis (SP), COL - Hot
June 30, 2007
News: Francis improved to 8-5 and lowered his ERA to 3.56 with seven shutout innings in the Rockies 5-0 win in Houston. Despite a minor hiccup in his previous start, Francis has now limited opponents to two runs or less in nine of his past eleven starts. He's also consistently working deep into ballgames, and has gotten through the seventh in nine of his past eleven starts.
Views: Whether there's a Coors factor or not, Francis is moving himself towards elite status. After last season's solid effort (13-11, 4.16 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), he already was a quality fantasy starter entering 2007. However, after building on it in the first half, it's safe to consider him a quality number two fantasy starter. He'll be tested next week when the Phillies come to town, but he should be in your lineup even though he's facing a top offense in Coors Field.
Fantasy Baseball 
Yeah, but I believe that's the reason why Colorado goes for ground ball pitchers. I think Francis is one of them.
Francis career splits:
Home - 22-11, 4.34 ERA, 1.38 WHIP
Road - 16-19, 4.89 ERA, 1.46 WHIP
This season, he's been slightly better on the road, but he's still been pretty damned good at home.
Home - 4-3, 3.94 ERA, 1.35 WHIP
Road - 4-2, 3.12 ERA, 1.29 WHIP
Actually, I remember two years ago he was just fine at Coors and awful on the road as a rookie. It's really not that surprising. The ball tends to break differently because of the altitude as well, which can be hell on a pitcher's command as they adjust to pitching in Coors and pitching anywhere else.
Basically, the point is that he really hasn't blown up at Coors in about a year and a half now. He's worth pitching anywhere... that's something we haven't said about a Rockies' starter for a while now.