Bowden Francis

Bowden Francis

29-Year-Old PitcherSP
Toronto Blue Jays
2025 Fantasy Outlook
Francis' 2024 season truly had it all. He made the club out of camp but was sent back to Triple-A after allowing 14 earned runs in 14.2 innings of work for the Jays. Francis came back to the club in June and worked out of the pen, but still allowed more hits than innings pitched around meddling results. He was once again sent back to Triple-A, but came back at the end of July and was a completely different guy. Francis made 10 starts to close out the season and allowed 31 hits and struck out 58 batters in 65 innings of work. He held the league to a .140 batting average, and his 1.80 ERA would have been lower if not for nine homers he allowed in that timeframe. Three times in the late summer, he pulled off Dave Steib tributes, taking no-hitters into the later stages of the game only to be foiled each time. Francis is now looking more like Kevin Gausman these days, as the splitter he picked up in the offseason became his preferred secondary weapon when his effective 2023 curveball abandoned him in 2024. Part of that late-summer push was the addition of a sinker to his pitch mix, and the league struggled to adjust to a two-fastball approach complemented by the splitter. The .211 BABIP is tough to overlook, but he has now pitched to a .208 BABIP over his last 140 big-league innings. The Jays are still a spiraling franchise, but this upside is enticing as long as you don't have to reach for it. Read Past Outlooks
RANKS
Rest of Season From Preseason
#246
ADP
$Signed a one-year contract with the Blue Jays in March of 2024.
Fans six in five scoreless innings
PToronto Blue Jays
May 27, 2025
Francis didn't factor into the decision Tuesday against the Rangers after allowing three hits and one walk in five scoreless innings. He struck out six.
ANALYSIS
Not only did Francis match a season high in punchouts, but he also registered his first scoreless start of the season among his 11 appearances. The 29-year-old right-hander had tossed at least five innings just once in his prior six outings, so Tuesday was certainly an encouraging bounce-back performance. Francis lowered his ERA to 5.04 along with a 1.36 WHIP and 46:17 K:BB across 55.1 innings in 2025, and he's set for a relatively tough test versus the Athletics his next time out.
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Pitching Stats
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2025
2024
2023
2022
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2024 MLB Game Log
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2023 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
84
Last 10 Games
83
Last 5 Games
83
How many pitches does Bowden Francis generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Bowden Francis generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-11%
BAA vs RHP
2025
 
 
-10%
BAA vs RHP
2024
 
 
-3%
BAA vs RHP
2023
 
 
-26%
BAA vs RHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2023vs Left .227 396 69 28 82 9 0 23
Since 2023vs Right .203 385 104 19 72 14 1 14
2025vs Left .283 136 25 13 34 4 0 12
2025vs Right .255 101 21 4 24 1 1 3
2024vs Left .199 187 31 13 34 4 0 8
2024vs Right .194 221 61 9 40 11 0 9
2023vs Left .197 73 13 2 14 1 0 3
2023vs Right .145 63 22 6 8 2 0 2
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2023
 
 
-16%
ERA on Road
2025
 
 
-44%
ERA on Road
2024
 
 
-6%
ERA on Road
2023
 
 
-32%
ERA at Home
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2023Home 3.79 1.05 99.2 6 4 0 7.5 2.3 1.9
Since 2023Away 3.20 1.00 95.2 5 7 1 8.5 2.1 1.5
2025Home 6.43 1.50 28.0 2 3 0 7.1 3.2 3.5
2025Away 3.62 1.21 27.1 0 3 0 7.9 2.3 1.3
2024Home 3.40 0.92 47.2 3 1 0 7.6 1.9 1.3
2024Away 3.21 0.93 56.0 5 4 0 8.4 1.9 1.6
2023Home 1.50 0.79 24.0 1 0 0 7.9 1.9 1.1
2023Away 2.19 0.89 12.1 0 0 1 10.2 2.2 1.5
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Bowden Francis compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
2.71
 
K/9
7.5
 
BB/9
2.8
 
HR/9
2.4
 
Fastball
92.4 mph
 
ERA
5.04
 
WHIP
1.36
 
BABIP
.281
 
GB/FB
0.85
 
Left On Base
77.8%
 
Exit Velocity
84.3 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
7.8%
 
Spin Rate
2012 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
31.9%
 
Swinging Strike
10.5%
 
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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7 days ago
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2024 Fantasy Outlook
Francis opened the season with Triple-A Buffalo where in his first four starts, he recorded a 3.45 ERA with an impressive 23 punchouts and only four free passes in 15.2 innings. The effort prompted a recall in early June, and he spent the rest of the season shuttling between the Blue Jays bullpen and Buffalo. When he was in the bigs, Francis was effective, registering a 1.73 ERA and .83 WHIP over 36.1 frames. Francis will be given the chance to break camp in the Blue Jays bullpen, but despite last season's shiny ratios, he's more likely to be utilized in low leverage scenarios which come with minimal fantasy relevance.
More Fantasy News
Lasts four innings in no-decision
PToronto Blue Jays
May 22, 2025
Francis took a no-decision in Thursday's 7-6 victory over the Padres, throwing four innings and allowing two runs on three hits and three walks with four strikeouts.
ANALYSIS
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Yields four runs in loss
PToronto Blue Jays
May 16, 2025
Francis (2-6) took the loss against the Tigers on Friday, allowing four runs on eight hits and two walks while striking out six across 4.2 innings.
ANALYSIS
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Turns in quality start
PToronto Blue Jays
May 10, 2025
Francis allowed three runs on six hits and a walk while striking out five over 6.2 innings in a no-decision versus the Mariners on Saturday.
ANALYSIS
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Drops third straight
PToronto Blue Jays
May 4, 2025
Francis (2-5) took the loss Sunday against the Guardians, allowing four runs on six hits and a walk over 4.1 innings. He struck out two.
ANALYSIS
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Surrenders five homers in loss
PToronto Blue Jays
April 30, 2025
Francis (2-4) took the loss Tuesday against the Red Sox, allowing seven runs on eight hits while striking out one over three innings. He did not issue a walk.
ANALYSIS
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Best AL pitcher for August
PToronto Blue Jays
September 4, 2024
Francis was named the American League Pitcher of the Month for August on Tuesday.
ANALYSIS
The right-hander was re-inserted into Toronto's rotation in late July and was dominant in August with a 1.05 ERA, 0.41 WHIP and 39:4 K:BB across 34.1 innings. Francis went 4-1 during that stretch, with the loss coming in a relief appearance Aug. 4 as he entered in extra innings and surrendered an unearned run. He should solidify his rotation spot for 2025 with a strong finish to the campaign.
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