Brandon BarnesHow did he get here?: Drafted, 6th Round (2005)
Stats: 6'2", 210 lbs, Bats/Throws: Right/Right
Age as of April 1, 2010: 23
2009 Overview
| AB | Avg/OBP/SLG | K:BB | XBH-RBI | XBH/H% | K/PA% |
| 484 | .273/.322/.471 | 133:28 | 54-78 | 40.9% | 25.1% |
Career (2005-09)
| AB | Avg/OBP/SLG | K:BB | XBH-RBI | XBH/H% | K/PA% |
| 1344 | .247/.307/.400 | 383:103 | 126-165 | 38.0% | 25.8% |
What happened?
Barnes was something of a mystery, posting OPS' of .577, .623, .795, and .613 (Greeneville, Greeneville, Tri-City, and Lexington, respectively), until throwing up a .793 OPS in 2009 between Lexington, Lancaster, and seven games in Corpus at the end of the season. Predictably, Barnes' highest SLG came at Lancaster, where the air is as thin as walls at the Super 8.
Barnes is also a solid outfielder, making 14 outfield assists in 118 games, and a .988 Fld%.
What went right?
I don't know that it's fair to say that Lancaster was the best thing to happen to Barnes' bat, because you still have to hit the pitches thrown to you, but Barnes posted career highs in all three slash lines, home runs, and RBI in Lancaster. Unfortunately, since Barnes spent the last seven games of the season in Corpus, MiLB has his splits from Corpus, and he went 2x21 in Double-A, so we won't even mess with it.
But we do see that Barnes' BABIP at Lancaster was .363, which is pretty incredible.
What went wrong?
Plate discipline, but this has been the case throughout his career. He's a free-swinging guy, striking out historically in a quarter of his ABs, with a 4.98 K:BB ratio since 2008. We'll have to see what awaits Barnes in 2010, whether it's a repeat at Lancaster, or a permanent-ish bump up to Corpus. He was 22 on Opening Day 2009, and the average batter's age in the Cal League was 22.8, so he's on par with the rest of the league.
