Mound Talk

BACKGROUND AND STATS
First base prospects are few and far between. Much of this is due to the fact that first base is the easiest defensive position to fill so teams will try players anywhere else they can first. Milwaukee is trying Matt LaPorta in right field. Kansas City tried to put Billy Butler in right field but will likely move him to first (or DH) before long. Cleveland is keeping Beau Mills at third despite his, presently, attrocious defense there. First base ultimately becomes a last resort for many players.

Oakland Athletics left handed hitting prospect Daric Barton is no different. He was drafted 28th overall in 2003 by the St. Louis Cardinals to play catcher. In his first full season he played all of his games behind the dish but by 2005 he was a full-time first baseman. He has since become one of the top first baseman prospects in baseball and been one of the more interesting prospects to watch develop.

The 6-foot-0, 205 pound slugger was traded from the Cardinals to the A’s in the 2004 deal that sent Mark Mulder to St. Louis. Drafted out of high school, Barton made his professional debut at age 17 in the Appalachian League and has steadily improved his stock since then.

His first full season was 2004 in the Midwest League. He hit .313/.437/.511 with 13 home runs and 23 doubles. In 402 plate appearances Barton, just 18, struck out only 44 times while drawing 69 walks. This trend became his calling card in the minor leagues.

He continued his success in 2005 with the A’s High-A affiliate hitting .318/.438/.469 in 361 plate appearances and .316/.410/.491 with their Double-A affiliate. Combined, he hit 13 home runs and 26 doubles. He walked 97 times and struck out 79.

In 2006 he underwent an appendectomy in Spring Training and only played 45 games due to a broken bone in his elbow but bounced back strong in 2007 with a .293/.389/.438 line in 602 Triple-A plate appearances.

Barton has always been regarded for his on-base skills as well as his power. He has consistently hit the ball well over his minor league career and shown he is ready for the big leagues.

AT THE PLATE
Barton has plus bat speed that he generates coming out of his hips and into his arms. His swing has a natural loft to it helping him drive the ball all over the field. He can effectively drive the ball to the opposite field for doubles and pull the ball for home runs.

Barton has a good eye at the plate and great strike zone judgement. He recognizes pitches early and capitalizes on pitchers mistakes. He has walked more times than he has struck out at every level except rookie ball and won’t chase pitches out of the zone or swing at pitches in the zone that he can’t handle.

Barton has shown power potential and certainly has the strength and swing to hit home runs, but has ultimately failed to live up to earlier expectations. Barton looks more like a 20-25 home run guy than 30+. He has begun to refine his approach at the plate to ’swing for green’ more and for the fences less. This is a move that will help his longevity and productivity in the long run.

With the positive production he’s had and the positive traditional scouting attributes, Barton creates an interesting prospect achetype to look at. He has always been young for his league yet put up good stats. He doesn’t have glaring weaknesses (other than defenively). However, looking into his stats and performance a little more shows some interesting trends. He has a great strikeout rate for someone with his power. He drives the ball with great frequency and does a good job limiting his ground balls. With his speed deficiency, this is a very positive attribute. His 2007 Triple-A stats indicate a very good season but it was ultimately fueled by an incredible month of June that saw a .469 BABIP with a fairly consistent line drive percentage. If this month were an average month he would have been more in the .280/.360/.400 range for the season. Still good, but not spectacular. All of this is said knowing that he was just 22 this season.

THE FUTURE
Barton will be an everyday player for the A’s next season and will likely see the majority of his playing time at first base. Barton has the skills to lead first basemen in average and on-base while struggling in slugging and other power numbers relative to the rest of the first basemen. Barton won’t be a perenial All-Star but he’ll certainly be a valuable player. He is close to his ceiling in many regards and should be able to step into Oakland next year in a productive fashion. He should be able to hit 20-25 home runs annually with a high on-base percentage.