Josh Barfield hit a couple more doubles yesterday to put him at .469/1 HR/12 RBI in 32 ABs this spring. He’s slugging .875 - 8 2Bs in 32 ABs will do that for you. He’s got a 6:0 K:BB, and 1 SB against no caught-stealings. So he’s doing pretty well for himself.

The Padres are probably going to bat him 2nd, which seems like an interesting place to put a run-producing hitter with a career .351 OBP over 4 minor-league seasons. But Barfield, a 4th round pick (120th overall) in 2001, hit .310 at AAA-Portland last year, and stole 20 bases (against 5 CS). So I guess he’s slated to play the role of Derek Jeter in PetCo.

Barfield’s ‘05 was a very nice .310/15/72. But his 108:52 K:BB is pretty much suggestive of his career 512:193 K:BB. He was .248/18/90 at AA-Mobile in ‘04, and .337/16/128 at A-Lake Elsinore in the California League in ‘03. He’s clearly a hitter, but how fast can he catch up to major-league pitching?

Spring training stats are interesting, but meaningless. Gabe Gross led the league in pre-season HRs last year and then he went on to hit 1 in 92 MLB ABs for the Jays. It’s nice to see Barfield hitting well, but what he does when he gets to PetCo is still a huge question mark.

A 6′0, 200 lb, second-baseman who can hit 15 HRs and drive in 75 is a valuable commodity in any league. But at 24 years old you’re taking a big risk counting on Barfield in his rookie season. Still, I like him. I don’t think he’ll hit for average, but he seems ready to do something. He’ll at least top Mark Loretta’s .280/3/38 ‘05 season. I’ll say .265/11/59 with 85 runs. I don’t see him as a 2-hitter in the future, and 82 home games won’t do him any favours in the HR department.

A quote from Jerry Crasnick at ESPN.COM: ” … Barfield has lived up to his billing as the Padres’ No. 3 prospect by showing improved plate discipline and driving the ball to all fields. “I want him to keep grinding, but he hasn’t done anything to make us believe he shouldn’t have the job,” Padres general manager Kevin Towers said. “He’s been by far our best player in camp.” Barfield … has hit .300 in four of his five minor-league seasons. He was once considered a question mark in the field but has shown significant improvement. This spring Barfield is playing the hops more proficiently and showing what scouts call a better “clock” in the field. “He knows the runners a little bit now — when he needs to rush and when he has time to make a play,” Towers said. “I’ve seen a huge difference in him defensively.”

Update (3/31/06)
Barfield went 4-4 yesterday, putting him at .436/2/18 for the spring. His K:BB is 8:1, which isn’t necessarily good. But 8 Ks in 55 ABs would mean less than 80 in a full season. That’d be very nice, but I’m assuming the pitching gets a little tougher as the Andy Ashbys of the world are sent to AAA. I think it’s pretty clear that Barfield won’t be a home-run threat, but he will hit enough doubles to drive in 60-70 runs.