Notes on a Scorecard: Appreciating Brian Barton
Good day …
There’s been some talk lately about what’s best for rookie Cardinals outfielder Brian Barton. As a Rule V draftee, he can’t be sent to the minors without first being offered back to his former team, the Cleveland Indians. The teams could work out a deal, and the Cardinals could send a player/prospect to Cleveland to gain unconditional rights to Barton, but nothing is in the works on that front. Ideally, Barton would benefit and develop from regular ABs, and that certainly would help bring out his power — but he simply won’t get those starts at the MLB level.
In that context, I think what Barton is doing is fairly impressive. There are a lot of veteran players in this game who don’t play well after sitting for long stretches. Without a lot of ABs, swings get rusty and it’s difficult to establish consistency. This is especially problematic for a young player who is used to playing every day in the minors, only to come to the majors to park on the bench for games at a time.
Barton, for example, recently received only four ABs in an 11-game stretch.
But when manager Tony La Russa finally put Barton in the lineup in recent days, the rookie responded magnificently with strong performances Sunday in Boston and Tuesday in Detroit.
In the two games, Barton went 3 for 7 with two runs, two doubles, a homer, three RBIs and a stolen base.
To get back into the flow and produce so quickly after being virtually idle for a couple of weeks is a positive reflection of Barton. And it does reveal his value.
Barton has also done a fine job as a pinch hitter. He’s 8 for 27, .296. Only five players in MLB have more pinch hits, and only six (minimum 20 ABs) have a higher BA than Barton. And again — isn’t reliable pinch-hitting supposed to be the domain of a veteran?
I’ve seen people write and blog and heard them say that maybe it’s best to just part ways with Barton because (1) he won’t get the time he needs up here; and (2) the Cardinals can’t send him down; (3) he is of limited value to the team.
I respectfully disagree. Barton, 26, does have value to this team, right now, as a guy who can come off the bench and make a difference, either as a PH or a spot starter vs. LHP.
Keep in mind that this Cardinals OF generally doesn’t stack up well against LHP.
Let’s take a look (all stats through Tuesday):
Ludwick: .244 / .333 / .535 - OPS of .866
Barton: .246 /.375 / .385 - OPS of .760
Ankiel: .211 / .263 / .394 - OPS of .658
Schumaker: .169 / .250 / .185 - OPS of .435
Duncan: .115 / .148 / .192 - OPS of .340
Barton also has speed, which isn’t in great supply on this team.
And though his arm isn’t very good, in terms of range and reliability he’s done fine in LF — and has a +1 rating so far by the John Dewan - Bill James system.
Unlike some of his OF colleagues, Barton will take a walk against LHP. His OPS vs. the LH isn’t great, but it is second-best among Cardinals outfielders. The Cardinals could use another good bat out there, and maybe that will be Colby Rasmus before long. Barton can’t play every day; too many ABs would likely expose him. There is a fine line here, and I’d like to see La Russa give Barton a little more run.
But Barton hasn’t done anything so poorly that it warrants cutting ties with him. Unless I’m missing it, I just don’t see a bunch of guys out there who can get something going after sitting and waiting, sitting and waiting.
And Barton, to this point, has a higher BA, OBP and SLG than Chris Duncan, who continues to get the ABs.
***
Last month there was plenty of chatter indicating that Ned Yost was in real trouble as the manager of the enigmatic Milwaukee Brewers. But Yost rode out the turmoil, and the Brewers are 20-7 over their last 27 games. They’ve won 8 of their last 9, and are only 1.5 games behind the Cardinals as Wednesday night’s action begins.
Why?
During the 20-7 run, Brewers starting pitchers have gone 17-5 with a 2.91 ERA. Dumping Eric Gagne as the closer has helped; the Brewers are 12 of 14 in save opps during this hot streak. The overall staff ERA is 3.23 since May 26.
Prince Fielder has 10 homers in his last 100 ABs, and Russell Branyan has given Milwaukee a needed power bat from the left side to counter all of the RH pitching that’s been hard on the Brewer lineup. Branyan has 10 homers in 74 ABs since being recalled from Class AAA.
Thanks for reading….
-B
I agree with you on this Bernie. Right now the way Ankeil isn’t hitting Barton should be stealing some of his AB’s vs. right-handed pitching and all of his AB’s vs. left-handed pitching.
I’m not saying Barton should play everyday, but he should be getting 10 to 15 AB’s a week in the OF right now. It’s a long season and Rick has hit a bit of a funk, the downtime that Barton got recently helped rejuvinate his bat. I think Rick could benifit from the exact same thing. The advantage this OF has is that Schu, Ankeil & even Ludwick can play all 3 OF positions. Tony has done a good job of mixing & matching this OF this season. I hope he continues to ride the hotter bats out there.
I agree with your comment on Ankiel. His strike out last night with the bases loaded was enough to make me scream. The guy has got to learn to take pitches and stop swinging at everything that comes his way.
Right now there are just to many options in the outfield. Stavinoha, Joey Bombs, and Raz all look to factor in the Cardinals plans in the outfield. I think Barton could potentially become a very solid outfielder. I just don’t see him drawing enough ABs to where he could make a difference. I’m also just not comfortable with him in the leadoff spot. He strikes out to often. Wasn’t a large part of the Cards recent offensive funk due to the fact that they could not set the table for the heart of the order?
Also, if the Cards look to be out of playoff contention by the trade deadline should they look at dealing Ank, Luddy ,and Schumacker and bring up some of the Memphis Mafia? All three if I’m not mistaken are free agents next year. Ank is really struggling and there are still clubs out there that would be willing to take on a power hitting, Gold Glove caliber centerfielder. Luddy would be attractive to alot of teams. If he reaches 30 HRs his price might be a little high, especially when there is cheap talent in Memphis, and I could not think of a better time to deal Skip Schumacker. I’m not saying deal all these guys, but possibly Schu or Ank for a LH reliver
There shouldn’t be a question as to his value to this team. Yo can never have to many talented players. The ball jumps off his bat, he has terrific speed and he is smart. He has certainly been good enough to keep his 5th OF spot and next year you can send him to AAA to play every day and become either a viable option for the Cardinals or a guy who has trade value to get something you need.
Great talking points Bernie…I think Barton is an asset to this team; if for nothing else he brings speed…And if I hear one more person attempt to down play Barton’s defense I’m going to scream…Barton can play left field; he’s quick to the ball…He may not have the greatest throwing arm, but it’s serviceable…Not every outfielder needs to throw a runner out at home plate from left center field…
I think that whole “Barton is a below average outfielder” crap came from LaRussa; who at the time, was trying to take the heat off of Duncan’s god awful defense…
At any rate, kudos Bernie!
Thank you again Bernie, for writing the truth about Brain Barton being a asset to this team. This young man brings a dimension to this team we don’t have on a regular basis in the lineup speed. He plays left field a whole lot better than Duncan did or does. People steady clamour for management to bring up unproven players from Memphis to take his spot, well on every team I ever played on in little leagues, highschool or college your play must be bad enough to lose it you spot, it hasn’t happen. How many players on the current roster defy the odds like he did comming into and out of spring training. He had to earn a roster spot on the team with his play on the field being a Rule V draftee. So fellow Cardinal fans get behind this young man encourage him to continue be the best along with the others on this team that nobody, i mean nobody pick to win any games, let alone compete for the divisional lead. That ole saying ” Another man’s trash is another man’s treasure.” So let’s appreciate these diamonds in the rough that are on this team while they polish themselves for October!
Although I would really like to see Barton sent down to AAA to get as many AB’d as possible (and I know that is not practical with the Rule V constraints), he does have real value to this team. He fills So Taguchi’s role but has much more speed. He really has some wheels and just needs experience.
I was worried earlier when I was reading the comments. But, I’m glad to see that someone has come to their senses about this guys value to the team. During Sundays game we really ran into a tough pitcher and he came through big time. He doubled in the first run with that opposite field shot, something batters like Duncan and Ankiel know nothing about. Plus when the number two hitter couldn’t move him over to third with less than two outs, he stole third so that he could score on a sac fly. There’s probably not another player (other than Pujols) who has the baserunning ability to steal third in that situation. We definitely will need his speed because in this post-mitchell report era, pitching is much better, power hitting is worse, and the need to manufacture runs is amplified.
7th inning of tonight’s game. 2 outs and Ankiel has just walked. Don’t you wish we had a player that could have stole second base before Glaus singled with 2 outs. But, I’m sure we can go base to base and Duncan will get it done against the lefty. lol