Jose Barrero Called Up

[Ohiohaybaler]

To the new poster above who said Barrero struck out 4 times today and insinuated that this means he’s a bum: I’ll take 0 for 4 with 4 Ks every day from a young short stop with an 1.000 OPS.

Barerro batted an anemic .209 in Louisville. I just don’t see him improving on that up here.
Since the Reds have nothing to lose at this point of the season, they might as well put Barerro at shortstop for now. However, I just don’t see him succeeding. I hope he proves me wrong about his performance.

[CaiGuy]

Barerro batted an anemic .209 in Louisville. I just don’t see him improving on that up here.
Since the Reds have nothing to lose at this point of the season, they might as well put Barerro at shortstop for now. However, I just don’t see him succeeding. I hope he proves me wrong about his performance.

And he batted .306 last year at AAA.

This year he spent what was basically a spring training and rehab assignment there. If he is or gets healthy, there is a good change he will hit.

[Kc61]

To the new poster above who said Barrero struck out 4 times today and insinuated that this means he’s a bum: I’ll take 0 for 4 with 4 Ks every day from a young short stop with an 1.000 OPS.

Eventually the strikeouts catch up to you. Jose’s OPS is no longer 1.000. It is now .714. And if he continues all the strikeouts it’ll be a heck of a lot lower.

The player has one overriding problem, swing and miss, and unless that improves he will almost surely be overtaken by other Reds prospects. This is the single problem for Reds and this player and addressing it successfully is pivotal for him.

[Old school 1983]

I think neither of those guys can kept being handed playing time. Needs to be earned through performance in limited roles.

I think with Senzel the turning point was the vertigo thing that has recurred. Just doesn’t seem at all like the caliber of baseball player he was advertised. You can tell he’s a good athlete, works hard, etc. But it just seems like something is missing here and very different from the player he was coming up. He has no power or ability to even try to hit for power. He’s not great on the base paths and not fully adept in CF. If it is all related to the vertigo stuff I don’t blame him… but seemingly he isn’t the same guy he once was.

Aquino just doesn’t make enough contact and too old to believe that’s changing. He’s at best a short side platoon guy, or more likely an overseas home run machine.


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I don’t think they’ve earned it, but it is kind of theirs by default. The Reds have a lot of talent that will be here in the next year or so. Some of it will be moved to OF and probably push them out. Either likely really doesn’t have any trade value. My thought is see what they have in the tank in case something clicks. At least then, you may be able to move them. If the Reds want to go out and spend on a FA OF. By all means. Move on from them.

[Chip R]

What type of slash line do we expect or does he project to have in say year 3 of a full year in MLB? Is he expected to hold off Marte, McLain, etc. or move to another position?

Let's do this. All these people are talking about how he needs to hit to stick with the team. But all I hear are nebulous stuff about how he does or does not strike out too much or how he wasn't hitting in AAA this year. Put your money where your mouth is. Give us a slash line that you believe is adequate. Otherwise, it's all hot air.

[Sea Ray]

Let's do this. All these people are talking about how he needs to hit to stick with the team. But all I hear are nebulous stuff about how he does or does not strike out too much or how he wasn't hitting in AAA this year. Put your money where your mouth is. Give us a slash line that you believe is adequate. Otherwise, it's all hot air.

I'd say he has to give you a slash line better than Kyle Farmer's at this point. If in the future he's pushed by Eli or some other prospect, he may have to do better but right now it's him or Kyle at SS

[mth123]

I don't think Barrero should be judged at all by what he does the rest of this year. Most likely, if he is, he won't be winning a spot on the roster next year.

The Reds are in full rebuild mode now and they don't have anything close to the pitching required to be competitive in 2023. Next season Barrero should be the opening day SS (and Steer should be the 3B). He should be over the hamate bone stuff by then and the league will likely have a decent read on him. That is the time to start making judgements. By the All Star break, one or more of the kids should be pushing for the big-league job. What I'd love to say is that Barrero will force an OF of McLain, De la Cruz and Marte, but he's still a question and I'm not sure they can move all three off of SS yet. Next year at this time, we'll have a better idea.

One of the reasons I didn't want him up struggling now was to avoid tainting any opinions of what he may be long-term. The Reds need to get this decision right and I believe what we may see over the next couple of months is bad information. I hope the Reds are smart enough to know that, but the track record says they don't get the benefit of that assumption.

[Kc61]

Let's do this. All these people are talking about how he needs to hit to stick with the team. But all I hear are nebulous stuff about how he does or does not strike out too much or how he wasn't hitting in AAA this year. Put your money where your mouth is. Give us a slash line that you believe is adequate. Otherwise, it's all hot air.

It’s all about OBP. If Barrero can OBP .315-320, or better, he’s the Reds starting shortstop. He has the defense and the power potential.

So last year Farmer had .316/.416/.732. That would be ok with Barrero and his SLG would likely be higher.

BUT - if the OBP component goes lower, for me, he enters platoon/backup territory. Power is great, but you need to reach a minimally acceptable OBP level to start on my team. That’s where the Ks come in for Jose.

[757690]

It’s all about OBP. If Barrero can OBP .315-320, or better, he’s the Reds starting shortstop. He has the defense and the power potential.

So last year Farmer had .316/.416/.732. That would be ok with Barrero and his SLG would likely be higher.

BUT - if the OBP component goes lower, for me, he enters platoon/backup territory. Power is great, but you need to reach a minimally acceptable OBP level to start on my team. That’s where the Ks come in for Jose.

Barrero is significantly better than defensively than Farmer at SS. I think Barrero can OPS as low as .650 and still be a decent starting SS.

[Kc61]

Barrero is significantly better than defensively than Farmer at SS. I think Barrero can OPS as low as .650 and still be a decent starting SS.

Not on my team. Especially if the OBP component is low. That’s not acceptable, I don’t care if he can field like Honus Wagner.

[RedsManRick]

The premise is a very high strikeout hitter. Someone said, above .750 OPS, I don’t care about strikeouts.

How many 35% strikeout hitters bat over .750 OPS today? And play good defense at a premium position?

As for hitters who occasionally “run into one” what is the OPB component? If he has a .280 OBP, is that someone you want playing frequently for you? I don’t.

THe discussion wasn’t about a typical .750 OPS hitter with a reasonable strikeout rate.

The highest K% among qualified hitters this year is 33.5%. At 35%, the only way to stay in the lineup is having elite power and either elite defense or walks. Mike Zunino, Joey Gallo, Miguel Sano. Otherwise you're gonna be fringe. You can't walk enough or play enough defense to make up for very low average and mediocre power.

If you get the strikeout rate down to 30% or so, you have a few examples of guys without truly elite power getting it done like Trevor Story (.221/.289/.423, 31%, +6.9 Def, 1.9 WAR), Jorge Mateo (.220/.270/.396, 29%, +9.9, 2.0 WAR) and our good friend Geno (.231/.331/.422, 32%, +0.7 Def, 2.5 WAR). Notice they're all pushing .200 ISO.

Drop that strikeout rate in to the mid-high 20s and it gives you even more room to play with -- Dansby Swanson, Willy Adames, Javy Baez, Bo Bichette, etc.

Of course, this is all against the backdrop of the Kyle Farmer alternative. If he plays elite defense, a .650 OPS puts him on equal or better footing. Though he'd still be in that passable, but not what you're looking for, territory where you're not letting him get in the way of the next guy up.

[westofyou]

Not on my team. Especially if the OBP component is low. That’s not acceptable, I don’t care if he can field like Honus Wagner.

He's gonna be like Leo Cardenas.

That's my hot take.

His OB% will be BA driven, he'll pop the ball more than a judy, hit LH's better than RH's, strike out more than you like and win a lot of games with his leather.

All without being surly at times. It is what we all should hope for

[Marc D]

He's gonna be like Leo Cardenas.

That's my hot take.

His OB% will be BA driven, he'll pop the ball more than a judy, hit LH's better than RH's, strike out more than you like and win a lot of games with his leather.

All without being surly at times. It is what we all should hope for

Kind of reminds me of Mariano Duncan as I get to see him more.

[CaiGuy]

I think a healthy Barerro would have given the Reds something like what Jeremy Peña is giving the Astros...which is a pretty solid overall player. Top-10 at the position.

[westofyou]

SS Adjusted OPS+ over the last two seasons (75 games to get in)

Player				        OPS	OPS+	G	Season	Age
Fernando Tatis Jr.			.975	166	130	2021	22
Corey Seager				.915	145	95	2021	27
Brandon Crawford			.895	141	138	2021	34
Trea Turner				.844	131	108	2022	29
Carlos Correa				.850	131	148	2021	26
Xander Bogaerts				.836	131	105	2022	29
Xander Bogaerts				.863	127	144	2021	28
Francisco Lindor			.807	127	108	2022	28
Corey Seager				.796	126	102	2022	28
Carlos Correa				.776	124	84	2022	27
Dansby Swanson			        .809	122	110	2022	28
Bo Bichette				.828	121	159	2021	23
Willy Adames				.818	120	140	2021	25
Tim Anderson				.806	118	123	2021	28
Nico Hoerner				.749	109	92	2022	25
Amed Rosario				.729	109	102	2022	26
Tim Anderson				.734	108	79	2022	29
José Iglesias				.768	107	93	2022	32
Willy Adames				.745	106	86	2022	26
Alcides Escobar				.744	105	75	2021	34
Bo Bichette				.727	104	107	2022	24
Trevor Story				.801	103	142	2021	28
Jeremy Peña				.719	102	87	2022	24
J.P. Crawford				.691	102	99	2022	27
Nicky Lopez				.744	102	151	2021	26
Ha-Seong Kim				.692	102	101	2022	26
J.P. Crawford				.715	102	160	2021	26
Francisco Lindor			.734	101	125	2021	27
Amed Rosario				.731	99	141	2021	25
Dansby Swanson				.760	97	160	2021	27
Elvis Andrus				.675	96	99	2022	33
Miguel Rojas				.713	93	132	2021	32
Gleyber Torres				.697	93	127	2021	24
Freddy Galvis				.709	91	104	2021	31
José Iglesias				.701	90	137	2021	31
Jorge Mateo				.666	87	100	2022	27
Paul DeJong				.674	86	113	2021	27
Kyle Farmer				.691	86	92	2022	31
Kyle Farmer				.732	86	147	2021	30
Isiah Kiner-Falefa			.642	85	98	2022	27
Isiah Kiner-Falefa			.670	85	158	2021	26
Javier Báez				.641	82	95	2022	29
Miguel Rojas				.625	77	96	2022	33
Elvis Andrus				.614	73	146	2021	32
Didi Gregorius				.639	71	103	2021	31
Nick Ahmed				.619	67	129	2021	31
Geraldo Perdomo				.574	66	97	2022	22
Andrelton Simmons			.558	57	131	2021	31
Kevin Newman				.574	56	148	2021	27
Andrew Velazquez			.477	36	96	2022	27