With his big brother Ben Affleck already on his third feature, we’ve been waiting to see what Casey Affleck – who has already outacted his sibling in Assassination of Jesse James – would direct next. Following up his Joaquin Phoenix mockumentary I’m Still Here, he’s finally decided what he’ll be writing and directing for his sophomore effort – but it won’t include an on-screen role for him.

Deadline reports Affleck has become attached to a biopic on MLB slugger Josh Hamilton, the 31-year-old that’s been playing in the major leagues for the last five years. Producer Basil Iwanyk and Thunder Road Pictures have teamed with Hamilton and his wife Katie, will also produce, for the film that will chronicle the baseball player’s early struggles. Hamilton was addicted to drugs including cocaine and crack, before turning to religion and leading to his discovery that puts him where he is today, one of the top players in the game. Check out a quote from Iwanyk below on developing a movie.

“I truly think this guy’ story is one of the most inspiring stories I’ve ever read. It’s also tailor-made for a movie: it has the mythic quality of The Natural, the faith-based angle of The Blind Side, and faith is a major part of our story, and the romance of Walk the Line. Casey has totally captured those elements in his take for the movie. It is an extraordinary odyssey that took him from the depths of drug addiction, estrangement from his family, and suspension from baseball to a spectacular rebirth of his life, faith, marriage and major league career.”

While at first glance those three examples may not gel strongly together, I have faith in Affleck to deliver something worthwhile. It will be interesting to see if they end up sugarcoating the truth with the actual subjects as producers, but it’d be great to see a raw take on this story and there’s no doubt that the success of last year’s Moneyball was a major force in getting this project moving. As for Affleck, he’ll next be seen Out of the Furnace, Scott Cooper‘s Oscar-nominated Crazy Heart follow-up, starring Christian Bale, Zoe Saldana, Woody Harrelson, Willem Dafoe and more. Check out a video of Hamilton below as wait to see if Affleck knocks it out of the park.