Dan Johnson still has time to prove himself so it's too early to tell. Johnson looks like he is more than good enough to stick around with him and Barton being the 1B/DH. Durazo can't stay healthy and Hatteberg is starting to get up there in years, so I am thinking they probably aren't in the A's long term plans. Barton's definitely right up there near the top among hitting prospects and not too far away.
I haven't really followed him since he left the STL organization, but I thought there was talk of him moving to a corner OF spot too, has that gone away?
SaintsOfTheDiamond wrote:I haven't really followed him since he left the STL organization, but I thought there was talk of him moving to a corner OF spot too, has that gone away?
He has been pretty much moved to 1B/DH now for good. He doesn't really have the defensive capabilities to play the OF well.
As for where I would rank him, probably top 15/20. He doesn't get ranked any higher cause I doubt his power will ever be that good, and since he is a 1B that's one of the first areas you look for production. The only other area he isn't very good at is defense, but other than that he has about everything you want in a prospect.
His arrival should be pretty much what Carter said, basically a year or so from getting the call.
barton will probably be ranked somewhere around #10 or so in my rankings... alot of people will have him much higher(probably around #3 or so after young and hermida), but his defensive concerns lowers him a bit for me.... alot like hybrid, i feel his power will not be great enough to become a great 1b in baseball,,, but he should still be a solid major leaguer with several all star appearances....
I would agree with everything that is being said so far. I think that he needs a year in triple A but with successive years of a bb/so greater than 1 he should be ready for 2007. It's really a shame he couldn't stay behind the place because he would have been a great replacement for Kendall.
i agree with all, except ONE thing - why wouldn't his power develop??? ... he hit 36 doubles and 14 hr's, while playing most of the season at 19 years old, in high levels for his age... if usually the doubles start turning into HR's as a player matures, why would it be any different for Barton?
he should have 30 hr power at some point, and maybe even 40... along with the high avg and high obp (his bb/k IS great).. he could be one of the very best hitters in mlb.
the only real problem i see with his fantasy value is low speed, and that he might be limited to the DH role.. but everything else should be there in big #'s
I'm not quite as optimistic as Carter but I do think his power could improve. Right now he's 5-11 195 so that's pretty solid already but I could see him possibly adding another 10-15 of muscle. He hit 13 homers last year which was the same number he hit in 2004. I think he has the upside for 20-25 in the majors (after another year of seasoning in AAA).
Last edited by Music2004Man on Mon Nov 07, 2005 3:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Cafe Home
Fantasy Football
Fantasy Basketball
Fantasy Hockey
by cristóbal » Mon Oct 10, 2005 7:22 pm 
