Coming Soon to a Ballpark Near You is a new look at some of the up and comers of Major League Baseball. My goal is to introduce a new player each week. Some will be in the majors, and some will be up soon. I have a list of players that will be making their debuts this year that I’m doing in alphabetical order. If anyone knows of someone they want to have profiled, feel free to e-mail me or post it in the forums. I’ll try to get as many of them as I can.
First, we have Rule V pickup…
Name: Brian Barton
Team: St. Louis Cardinals
DOB: 04/25/1982
Drafted: Not draft – signed by the Cleveland Indians
Acquired: Rule V Draft, Dec 2007
Awards: 2006 Carolina League All Star (Mid-season and post-season), 2006 Hi-A All Star (Baseball America), 2007 Baseball America’s Top 100 (#86), 2007 Eastern League All Star (Mid-season).
Stats:
Background:
Barton was undrafted out of college due to his Aerospace Engineering degree from the University of Miami, where he balanced that difficult degree with collegiate baseball. The Indians gave him a shot and signed him to a minor league contract near the end of the 2004 season. He made his debut in 2005 and worked his way up the organization. After good seasons in 2005 and 2006, Barton was expected to break out. He split the season between AA and AAA, where he put up ok numbers. In September, he underwent knee surgery.
As a result of the knee surgery, Barton was not put on Cleveland’s 40-man roster and was exposed to the Rule V draft. He was considered the top prospect available and many experts expected him to be drafted first. Instead, he dropped to the Cardinals at the 10 spot.
Barton has essentially been given a roster spot after a strong spring:
Rookie Cards:
2006 Tristar Prospect Plus #68
Official rookie cards will be released this year after he plays his first MLB game – like series 2 of Topps and Upper Deck.
ETA:
Now – should be on St. Louis’s active roster for opening day.
