Black Sox Beat Writer
Chicago Sports Online
There’s drafting the best player available, and there’s drafting for need.
Sometimes, if you’re lucky, the two come together – and the Chicago Black Sox are counting themselves very, very lucky after the first round of the 2045 rookie draft.
Larry Barkin
Barkin has been a college star for Gillette, piling up impressive batting and fielding numbers for the Razors. His freshman year, in 2043, he slashed .397/.484/.698; and in 2045, he’s put up a .335/.463/.476 slash-line to go with an 8.37 range factor at short.
Although scouts are skeptical that he can replicate those offensive numbers in the BBA, they believe he should be able to hold his own. “He has above average contact potential and should draw an average number of walks,” says his most recent scouting report.
“If you combine that with his elite defensive skills, he should be a fine starting shortstop,” said Frank H. Pabodie, Chicago’s director of scouting. “Assuming we get him signed quickly – and the early talks with his agent look promising – we’ll start him out either at Single A Grand Junction or AA Beloit. If he plays well, we’ll likely have him to Spring Training next year and hope he’ll be ready to step in.”
It’s no secret that Chicago is facing a salary cap squeeze in 2046 and are hoping that current SS Jaime Ramirez will exercise his option at the end of this season and void the final year of his contract. Given that Sox management has been less than dazzled by Ramirez at the plate or in the field, it’s also possible the team will simply cut him and eat his $4.5 million salary as a way to gain some cap relief.
If Barkin is ready to go by then, the Sox would simply plug him into the lineup and never look back, said Gayle Combs, an analyst for Bats, Balls and Batted Balls, a weekly blog devoted to baseball wonkery, punditry and occasional poetry.
Scouts currently rate Barkin at 45/55 for his overall potential; 6/7 for his contact skills; 7/8 for gap power; 4/4 for home run power; 5/6 for plate discipline; and 6/7 for avoiding strikeouts. He’s graded at an elite “10” in the field.
“Hey, I’m ready to go whenever we get the contract signed,” Barkin said. “I’ll go wherever they want me to go, but my goal is to play in the BBA as soon as possible. I like playing against the best, and that’s where the best play.”
Combs said Barkin reminds her of another shortstop with a similar name who played for a mythical Cincinnati franchise in the popular MLB video game series. “Barry someone or other,” she mused.
But Pabodie was having none of it.
“Finding good players for the Sox is hard enough,” he said. “I try to stick to real life – I’m not interested in whether Barkin reminds people of some fake video game player. How preposterous. Everyone knows Cincinnati has never had a BBA franchise. Fake news about fake baseball.”
