Kelly Johnson has been a steady performer for the Braves until this season when he seems to have lost it. Johnson has played in 71 games this season for the Braves and he is 54 for 239 (.226 avg, .687 OPS) with 36 runs scored, 6 homers, 22 RBIs and 5 stolen bases. The Braves might try to move Johnson in a trade before this Friday if a team is willing to give the Braves something for him. Johnson has lost his starting 2B job to Martin Prado but who can blame the Braves for making that change? Prado has played in 74 games for the Braves this season and he is 74 for 235 (.315 avg, .860 OPS) with 35 runs scored, 6 homers and 26 RBIs. Johnson might benefit from a fresh start in a new organization.

24-year old righty swinging RF Jeff Francoeur had a year he would like to forget in 2008 with the Braves. Francoeur has played in 151 games this season for the Braves and he is 138 for 581 (.238 avg, .653 OPS) with 67 runs scored, 11 homers and 68 RBIs. The Braves really hope that Francoeur can rebound to the levels he was producing in his first two full seasons in the major leagues. He played in 324 games in 2006-2007 and he was 357 for 1,293 (.276 avg) with 167 runs scored, 48 homers and 208 RBIs. If Francoeur has another season like 2008 the Braves will look to replace him in the starting lineup for 2010 if not before.

I don’t know if it’s hurt feelings or if Kotchman just hasn’t adjusted to National League pitching but he’s played horrible for the Braves since coming over from the Angels. Kotchman has played in 19 games for the Braves and he is 10 for 67 (.149 avg, .456 OPS) with 6 runs scored and 5 RBIs. The Braves are hoping that Kotchman gets his bat going as Mark Teixeira has been incredible for the Angels since the trade. To secure his spot in the Braves’ future Kotchman will have to start hitting soon.

The Braves have demoted starting RF Jeff Francoeur to AA ball so that he can play for his old coach who will try to get his bat going again. Francoeur has played in 85 games for the Braves this season and he is 78 for 334 (.234 avg, .561 OPS) with 40 runs scored, 8 homers and 41 RBIs. The Braves will call up 27-year old lefty swinging Jason Perry to replace Francoeur in RF. Perry has played in 69 games in AA+AAA ball this season and he is 75 for 243 (.309 avg, 1.025 OPS) with 50 runs scored, 18 homers and 55 RBIs. But, he has whiffed 71 times already this season which could mean he could have trouble making contact against major league pitching. Look for Francoeur to be back with the Braves as soon as he can get his bat going again.

Many thought Andruw Jones would follow up his monster 2006 season which another stellar year because he is about to become a free agent. He might have cost himself a few bucks with the season he’s turning in. Jones is having an awful 2nd half of the season when the Braves really needed him to step up to help get them back into the hunt for the National League East. Jones has played in 52 games in the 2nd half of the season and he is 47 for 197 (.239 avg, .748 OPS) with 32 runs scored, 9 homers and 31 RBIs. Jones has now played in 140 games this season and he is only hitting .222 with 75 runs scored, 24 homers and 85 RBIs. He has not cut down on his swing to try to get out of his season long rut as he has whiffed 128 times in 519 at bats. I have a feeling that the Braves are going to let him walk away this winter.