Scouts and baseball executives alike gush over his short, fluid, lefthanded stroke. In addition to its propensity to help him put up annual .300+ batting averages, it has the kind of loft at the end to forecast developing power.
Now the A’s top prospect in the minors – with outfielder Travis Buck in Oakland – Barton continues to be a highly-touted hitter. He was largely thought of as the best player the A's acquired in the deal that brought him back home to California. Keith Lieppman, Oakland’s director of player personnel, didn’t hesitate in drawing comparisons of Barton to Hall of Famers Wade Boggs and Tony Gwynn at the time. Billy Beane called Barton “the best hitter in the minors,” at the time of the trade. Barton has made a strong case so far with a robust .305 career batting average in 324 minor league games.
Fifty-four games into the 2007 season,
Barton is batting .242/.359/.376 with 34 walks versus 27 strikeouts and
four home runs in 194 Triple-A at-bats.
I had a chance to ask Barton a few questions while he was playing in Sacramento earlier this season.
Ray Lin: You suffered a season-ending fracture of the radial head of your left elbow last year. How is your elbow feeling now?
Daric Barton: It’s feeling great, everything is 100-percent. It was 100-percent when I went to play winter ball in the Dominican Republic in the offseason.
Lin: How has your swing been feeling?
Barton : It’s feeling really good. Spring Training felt awesome (.440 in 25 ABs) and it’s carrying over to now. The more at-bats I get, the better I feel with my swing.
Lin: Did you model your swing after anyone?
Barton: No, not at all. I liked [Ken] Griffey [Jr.] growing up but when I tried swinging like him, it wasn’t successful so I just went with my own swing.
Lin : People characterize your swing as very much a “sweet stroke.” How would you describe your swing?
Barton : I’d like to think of it as a short swing, even if some people may think differently. I just try to go out there and get a certain pitch to hit. If I get it, then I take advantage of it. If not, then I try to battle until a get a good pitch to hit.
Ray Lin can be reached at raylin@gmail.com.