It has been a long year for Atlanta Braves outfielder Jeff Francoeur. Francoeur, who recently spent three days in the minors, has struggled tremendously to this point, batting .229/.289/.354 in 446 at-bats.

This has been a bit of a surprise.

The former Sports Illustrated cover boy, labeled as “The Natural,” came into spring training camp looking stronger than ever after working hard this off-season and seemed ready to put up some big numbers.

Francoeur, 24, has never been a player who has shown great discipline. But I still thought that he was going to break out this year, though, by possibly regaining his power stroke from 2006 while increasing his walk total and improving his on-base skills. After all, his walk total jumped from 23 up to 42 in 2007, as he hit 19 homers, drove in 110 runs and posted a .782 OPS without missing a game. His power dropped off from the previous year, when he hit a career-best 29 home runs, but he was not responsible for making as many precious outs.

Add in the improved strength and weightlifting aspect, and a 30-homer, 50-walk season did not seem out of the question.

Well, that prediction has backfired on me, huh?

Although Francoeur has 10 home runs and 52 RBIs, there is no denying that he has been a major disappointment for Atlanta. Among 11 qualifying right fielders in the National League, he currently ranks dead last in batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and OPS (.643). He has also struck out 85 times, compared to only 31 bases on balls, and is batting a measly .185 with runners in scoring position.

It is easy to see what all the hype was about when he came up, though many people within the industry have tended to overrate him by ignoring his poor on-base skills. However, a lot has changed since the article appeared, and he needs to pick it up.

Francoeur, who has dropped 20 pounds over the course of the season, would be the first to tell you that, too. In fact, he recently did exactly that when discussing his struggles with the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

“This season has taken a toll, there’s no doubt,” Francoeur said. “When you look back at how many chances I had to drive guys in — I recognize that and realize I need to finish the best I can the next six weeks. It’d be really nice to finish strong and go into the offseason knowing what I need to do to be back where I know I can be next year.”

Francoeur tried wearing a contact in his right eye, thinking his vision might have been affected from the 2004 injury when he was hit in the face by a pitch. But a visit to an eye specialist at Emory last week ruled that out.

“My dad wanted me to get it checked out,” Francoeur said. “I called him on the way home and I said ‘Well Pops, I’ve got good news and bad news. Good news is there’s nothing wrong with my eyesight. The bad news is I just flat out [stink] right now.’”