Oakland A’s Player of the Day: Daric Barton

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With Nate Freiman and Brandon Moss platooning at first base, who would of thought we’d have discovered another great first basemen this season in Daric Barton? Barton had been called up to the majors and sent back down, but really started impacting the team towards the second half of the season when he was called up yet again. Let’s take a closer look at our A’s player of the Day.

2013 Offense

Daric Barton had been called up earlier in the season to take over first base duties for Brandon Moss while Moss went to the outfield for an injured Josh Reddick. He was sent back down as soon as Reddick returned, but he came back to the majors later on in the season while moss once again moved to the field for an injured Reddick and stayed even longer when Freiman ended his season with a rib injury. Before the All Star Break, he had a .143 average over a short span of 21 at bats. After the All Star Break when he returned to the majors, he had an average of .301 over a longer span of 83 at bats. That was enough to land him a spot on the ALDS roster. He only had 3 at bats in the ALDS, but to go from a triple-A player not expected to be in majors that season to being on the roster for the postseason shows quite an improvement for Barton in his career.

2013 Defense

Barton did not disappoint covering for Moss at first base. He was a good, solid first baseman that made his fair share of good plays. He had 232 putouts and took part in 25 double plays in 36 games played, 30 started. He did have one error, but given how well he started performing his second time up in the majors, we can forgive him for that one. He proved himself skilled enough to make the organization sign him for another year.

2014 Offense

Expect Barton to play in triple-A again. He may have played well in 2013, but with Freiman and Moss also on the roster, he will end up the odd man out after spring training. He will be called up to the majors again though if Moss or Freiman get injured or if someone in the outfield does and Moss is put there once again. He won’t get a lot of time in the majors, but he has done enough to earn some playing time throughout the season.

2014 Defense

Barton’s 2014 defense will practically be the same as his 2013 defense. He’s a solid reserve that’s reliable to call upon and that can keep going with the rest of the team. If someone is injured and he is called upon, the loss won’t feel as bad because he is a good replacement. He plays a good first base and will be able to keep up with the team.

Final Thoughts

Daric Barton is a great example of one the A’s strength’s; depth. They have a really deep team that can lose a player to the DL and still keep going like a well oiled machine. The A’s have a good problem to have, too many good players and not enough roster spots to have them all on the team at the same time.