Brian Barton

Brian Barton: Outfielder

Age: 24 Height: 6’3” Weight: 190 Bats: Right Throws: Right

Stats & Stuff: Barton is an undrafted free agent signed out of the University of Miami in August 2004. With the path he has taken and the strides he has made, he has the potential to become a remarkable success story considering he went undrafted. The Indians are still scratching their heads how he went undrafted. He originally went to Loyola and then transferred to Miami, and the thought was because he had to sit out a year after the transfer to Miami along with the concern that he was not serious about baseball (he majored in aerospace engineering) it plummeted his draft stock and led to him not being selected in the draft. Since debuting in Lake County in 2005, Barton has caught the attention of the Indians and made a lot of teams second guess their decision to not draft him. Combined at Lake County and Kinston in 2005, Barton hit .326/.442/.506 with 7 HRs, 64 RBIs and 20 stolen bases. He followed that up with a breakout performance in 2006, hitting a combined .323/.412/.511 with 19 HRs, 83 RBIs and 41 stolen bases for Kinston and Akron last year.

The Good: In radio interviews over the summer, former Indians Farm Director John Farrell compared Barton’s build and ability to major leaguer Mike Cameron. Barton is the best Indians minor leaguer most people have never heard of, and his performance last year vaulted him past several players that the Indians actually took in the draft in 2004. In fact, the only one above him now is Lofgren. He is an extremely versatile player with a speed/power combination that teams dream about. Barton has the physical tools and the athleticism to make an impact, and has outstanding bat speed with power to all fields. His intelligence as a player goes without saying, as he is a heady player with a very good feel for the game. As a runner, he has very good speed and instincts on the bases and in the field. He also is an excellent defensive outfielder, and has no problem playing center-field or right-field. His range and arm strength both grade out as above average.

The Bad: Barton does have a tendency to strikeout a lot, as he whiffed 109 times last year in 446 at bats. Although, the strikeout-rate did drop significantly when he was called up to Akron as he only struckout 26 times in 151 at bats compared to 83 times in 295 at bats at Kinston. If Barton can develop more patience at the plate, it will go a long way at helping him provide even more consistent production with his bat. Barton also needs to work on identifying breaking pitches better, and his swing tends to get long and he is very susceptible to inside pitches.

The Outlook: With Barton, Crowe, Snyder, Goleski, Francisco and Gutierrez all virtually on the major league doorstep or close to it, the Indians have a lot of outfield options to turn to in 2007 and beyond. Even though Barton is on the fast-track, he only has 151 Double-A at bats in his career. With the logjam of outfielders in the system, Barton should repeat at Akron to start 2007 because other players such as Ben Francisco and Franklin Gutierrez most likely will be in Buffalo to start the season. Barton will use the time early in Akron to accrue more Double-A at bats, and like Crowe, could be a mid-season callup to Buffalo depending on his health and performance.

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