Barger proves a quick learner
Fifth-ranked prospect in Toronto’s system made an impression this spring
It happened in 2018, in 2019 and again on Wednesday night — one of the Blue Jays’ top prospects made his major-league debut in Kansas City.
Unlike Danny Jansen and Bo Bichette before him, Addison Barger’s call came earlier than anticipated, a hip flexor injury to Kevin Kiermaier having opened up a spot on the roster, but there’s no doubt that the 24-year-old earned the opportunity.
The fifth-ranked prospect in Toronto’s system, according to both Baseball Prospectus and Baseball America, Barger showed his stuff in front of the Jays brass in spring training, batting .444 with a .546 on-base percentage and three doubles in nine Grapefruit League games. He then went down to Buffalo and hit .314 with a 1.021 onbase-plus-slugging percentage, driving in 21 runs for the Bisons in 19 games with 14 walks against 15 strikeouts.
Kiermaier suffered his injury in the sixth inning of Tuesday night’s 3-2 loss to the Royals, so Barger didn’t get the word that he was coming up until just before midnight Eastern time. He wound up on a 6 a.m. flight Wednesday from Buffalo to Kansas City.
A third baseman and right fielder this season and most of last year, Barger was in the starting lineup Wednesday night batting eighth and playing left field — a position he had never played in his seven years in pro ball.
The first test in the outfield was pretty routine, handling a line single by Salvador Perez with runners on the corners. Barger fielded it cleanly, with no play on either runner, but the first fly ball hit to him was another story.
Barger’s inexperience playing left field showed immediately as he failed to anticipate how much a ball off the bat of a left-handed hitter would slice back toward the line instead of carrying into the gap. Kyle Isbel’s drive ate him up, falling behind him and rolling to the warning track where Barger fumbled the ball before getting it back to the infield, charged with an error.
Isbel scored as the next batter, Maikel Garcia, singled to left.
An inning later, Barger was tested again and showed he’d learned the lesson. Vinnie Pasquantino, also a left-handed hitter, blasted a ball over his head toward the left-field corner and Barger not only ran a perfect route but made a leaping catch, slamming against the wall and winding up on the seat of his pants, cradling the ball with both hands.
The Seattle-area native’s first bigleague at-bat came leading off the third inning, with the Jays down 2-0, and he looked about as good as one can without getting a hit.
After falling behind 0-and-2, Barger took ball one then got a curveball down the middle, put a great swing on it, and belted the ball 397 feet to dead centre. The ball had an expected batting average of .870, coming off the bat at 105.3 miles per hour, but Isbel got back to the track and hauled it in.
Next time up, Barger smacked a line drive right back up the middle that hit pitcher Alec Marsh on the forearm, having thrown up his hands to protect himself. Though Marsh recovered to make the play at first base and retire Barger, he wasn’t able to continue.
Barger isn’t likely here to stay, as Jansen and Bichette both were when their times came, but he can put himself in a strong position with a good showing until Kiermaier gets healthy. A great three weeks in his second go-round at Triple-A certainly doesn’t suggest he has nothing left to prove there, but one never knows what opportunities for playing time might arise between now and then if he earns it.
As for those who went before him, the Jays can only hope that Barger will have as much of an early impact. Jansen went 2-for-3 in his debut and began his career with a six-game hitting streak, while Bichette singled in his first big league at-bat and wound up with a hit in each of the 10 games that followed, including a double in a majorleague-record nine straight.