Friday, March 29, 2013

Overbay Not The Only 1B Option

Dan Otero, who was recently released by the Yankees, was claimed by the Oakland Athletics. Their corresponding move was to release Daric Barton. At first I didn't think much of it, as he didn't seem to be an improvement over Lyle Overbay. But I looked a bit deeper and changed my mind.

While Overbay had an extraordinarily high Batting Average on Balls In Play .346, as well as an extraordinarily high Line Drive percentage of 28%, in 2012, he only hit .259/.331/.397 in 131 plate appearances. That tells me that he not only got very lucky last season, but his ceiling is as high as a turtle's knee.

However, the same can't be said for Daric Barton. Daric's BABIP the last couple of years was .275 and .260, while his his LD%s of 19% and 20% were right around his career norms. Daric may not hit double-digit home runs, but if he can repeat or come close to the .393 OBP he had in 2010 (he led the league with 110 walks, which definitely helped), and put up a batting average around the .273 he had in 2010, then he could make a good addition to the lineup.

Oh, and Barton also won a Fielding Bible award in 2010, so if defense is what the Yankees want to see out of 1B then Daric looks to be their guy.

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Sorry for the Capatcha... Blame the Russians :)