With Ryan Doumit signing with the Minnesota Twins, the Pirates were awarded a compensatory pick for his departure. With the 45th overall pick, the Pirates selected the No. 21 ranked position player in the draft, Barrett Barnes from Texas Tech University. Barnes is 6’1″ 210 lb. outfielder with good speed but lacks a strong arm. Scouts feel that Barnes will shift from center to left in the big leagues and with Andrew McCutchen patrolling center for the foreseeable future, I would tend to agree.
Barnes is projected to have plus power by Baseball America, but has good bat speed and can hit the gaps. The junior had his lowest home run total this year out of his three-year career with nine, down from 10 and 14 the previous two years. Barnes had a solid .325/.419/.597 line this season. On the defensive side, Barnes committed just the one error. Barnes was named Big-12 Freshman of the Year in 2010 and has been named to the Big-12 first or second team in each of his seasons.
With McCutchen, Starling Marte and Josh Bell as the future of the Pirates outfield, it doesn’t hurt to have a player with Barnes who could prove to be a steal. Many scouts had him going to the Texas Rangers in the first round, so the Pirates received good value for their pick. One scout called Barnes the best college hitter in the draft and said he just didn’t get the recognition because Texas Tech struggled this year. If Barnes signs, he can go back to school, then his speed could be a good addition down the road.
Can this be considered Doumit’s biggest contribution to the Pirates if Barnes does sign?
Photo credit: Brad Tollefson
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