I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Indians OF Brian Barton was selected by the Cardinals in the Rule 5 draft. Barton is a 25 year old outfielder with "toolsy" abilities and was largely expected to go number one or two overall. While the Rule V draft typically doesn't generate (or merit) much attention, this move will pay off for the Cardinals. Brian has been old for just about every minor league level he's been to, but he has shown the ability to excel in all aspects of the game. 2007 was an injury shortened year for Brian, but a closer look shows that Barton has been an on-base machine throughout his minor league career. A career .417 OBP will attest to that. The Cardinals have already had moderate success with the Rule 5 draft before: Hector Luna was chosen from the Indians in the same manner. I look for Barton to have a significant impact on this borderline anemic offense (as determined by Derrick Goold). Probably not in an everyday role, but certainly as an exciting player off the bench.
Future Redbirds already has a video up that better shows a Barton plate appearance, but I found this video as well when Barton was with the Indians' AAA affiliate.
MLB.com profiles the rest of the Rule 5 draft here. Barton was the only Rule 5 selection by the Cardinals.
0 comments:
Post a Comment