Barton may be ready to bust out power

JUPITER, Fla. -- Brian Barton's first season with the Cardinals made him look a bit like something from the "Whiteyball" years. Barton got on base at a respectable .354 clip and flashed impressive speed, but displayed very little power. That may have been misleading.

Barton hit as many home runs (two) in Sunday's Grapefruit League win over the Marlins as he did in 153 Major League at-bats last season, and it's possible that there's more power to come from him. Barton's .392 slugging percentage doesn't jibe with what he did before he reached the Majors. In four Minor League seasons, Barton slugged .475. In 2006, he cranked 19 home runs between Class A Kinston and Double-A Akron.

Best of all, he does it without getting pull-happy. Both of his long balls on Sunday -- which, admittedly, were wind-aided -- went to right field, and Barton is happy to keep slashing to the opposite field.

"[Power] is something that I know I have, especially to the right side," Barton said. "It's one of the things I'm not going to really worry about. Because whether I hit a ball out or I hit the ball in the gap, it's going to be helpful for the team. So I'm not going to really stress it. I'm just going to go out there and swing the bat and the numbers will show."

Manager Tony La Russa adamantly insists that his players not talk about or think about power. He maintains that once a hitter starts thinking about home runs, he'll stop hitting them. But La Russa acknowledged that extra-base pop is a part of Barton's game that the Cardinals could see more of in 2009.

"He showed flashes last year when he caught the ball with good timing," La Russa said. "The ball had good carry and he's got a live bat. The balls today, even though the wind was blowing out, it was blowing out for everybody and you had to hit it solid to get it out."

Barton will have to keep hitting to ensure his presence on the '09 Cardinals. He's in a scramble with several other players for outfield spots, though he has the advantage of being one of only two right-handed hitters in the bunch.

"We've got so many left-handed hitters. If you're a right-handed hitter you'll be looked at seriously," La Russa said. "We don't have a lot of right-handed hitters. So he's in a good position. If he can play."

(mlb.com)