Jeff Francis

Did You Know?

• Francis attended Burnsview Junior Secondary School and North Delta Senior Secondary School in North Delta, British Columbia.
• He played for the North Delta Blue Jays of the B.C. Premier Baseball League before pursuing a physics major at the University of British Columbia.
• Francis and his wife Allison Padfield married on December 31, 2005, in London, Ontario.

Professional career

Jeff Francis entered the MLB spotlight when the Colorado Rockies picked him ninth overall in the first round of the 2002 draft. Alongside fellow Canadian Adam Loewen, selected fourth that same year, they were the highest-drafted players from Canada at the time. In 2004, Francis swept the Minor League Player of the Year awards from both Baseball America and USA Today, a first for any Rockies minor leaguer. He joined an exclusive group of players—Andruw Jones, Rick Ankiel, and Josh Beckett—who had earned both honors in the same season. Splitting the year between Double-A Tulsa and Triple-A Colorado Springs, he posted a 16–3 record with a 2.21 ERA and held opponents to a .194 batting average over 24 starts. His 196 strikeouts in 154.2 innings gave him an 11.4 strikeout-per-nine rate, and he fanned more batters than the combined total of hits (108) and walks (29) he allowed.

Francis debuted in the majors on August 25, 2004, against the Atlanta Braves, taking an 8–1 loss. He worked five innings, surrendering six runs on three home runs, walking one, and striking out eight. His first win came on September 5 at Petco Park against the San Diego Padres, where he tossed five scoreless innings in a 5–2 Rockies victory. He ended his rookie season with a 3–2 record and a 5.16 ERA. The following year, Francis became a rotation regular, making 33 starts. He went 14–12 but struggled with a 5.68 ERA and a 1.62 WHIP, allowing 228 hits across 183 innings. On September 23, he earned his 30th career win against the Braves, surpassing Brian Bohanon as the winningest left-handed pitcher in Rockies history. He finished that season with a 4.16 ERA and 13 wins.

In November 2006, Francis signed a four-year, $13.25 million contract with a $9 million option for a fifth year, which would have been his first free-agent eligible season. The deal allowed both sides to avoid annual arbitration. Francis then delivered a career-best season, leading the Rockies to their first playoff appearance in over a decade. He finished with 17 wins, 165 strikeouts, and 215.1 innings pitched.