Brian34Cook

NASHVILLE -- The St. Louis Cardinals announced today that they have selected outfielder Brian Barton in the Rule 5 Baseball Draft at the Winter Meetings in Nashville, Tenn. Barton was selected with the 10th pick in the Major League phase of the draft. He was a member of the Cleveland Indians organization.

Barton is a career .317 hitter in 354 career minor-league games beginning in 2005, after he was signed by the Indians as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Miami. He owns a career .417 on-base percentage. The 25-year-old played the majority of last season at Double-A Akron and was promoted late in the season to Triple-A Buffalo. He ranked second in the Eastern League with a .314 batting average and was fifth with a .416 on-base percentage. The 6'3", 187 pound Barton combined to steal 21 bases last season in 31 attempts.

"Barton is a player that has always hit and he can play all three outfield positions," said Cardinals Vice President of Amateur Scouting and Player Development Jeff Luhnow. "He displays a good combination of speed and power and has an excellent work ethic."

The Official Site of St. Louis Cardinals: Official Info: Press Release

Very nice.. sounds like a steal.. but.. I dunno if he'll be with us long or not..

Brian34Cook

Barton Goes To Redbirds

Barton, a potential five-tool player, hit .305/.402/.420 with 21 stolen bases in 2007 between Double-A Akron and Triple-A Buffalo. He was considered the consensus best gamble on the board. Most clubs were scared off by concerns about the knee surgery Barton had several weeks ago, but St. Louis obviously did its homework and dispatched scout Charlie Gonzalez to the University of Miami to see Barton work out.

"He's wearing a knee brace right now, but we were able to learn that it's not anything that's going to hold him back from being ready for spring training," Cardinals director of scouting and player development Jeff Luhnow said. "Really when you look at his career, the only time he hasn't performed is that small sample in Triple-A this year and we don't know how much of that was due to the injury. Clearly there was something bothering him, but he finished the season.

"He's a guy that checks a lot of boxes for us because he did perform throughout his career and our scouts liked him a lot. Every time we've seen him we've graded him out with pretty good tools across the board. He can run, he can play all three outfield positions. Defensively, he's very adequate and for us to take a Rule 5 position player the number one concern has to be defense. We felt like that is part of his arsenal and then the bat is a bonus, but he's also a righthanded hitter and right now if you look at our outfield, we've got three lefthanded hitters. He's going to have a legitimate chance to make the club."

Barton, who signed with Cleveland as a nondrafted free agent in 2004, was at home in Miami when he got the news, and was obviously elated to get an opportunity.

"Being left off the (Cleveland) roster was a little disappointing, but at the same time I had to understand that certain teams have certain needs," Barton said. "It's a business and that's the way you have to treat it. Everything's been good health-wise—it was just a little cleanup. I just felt like I'd be a better asset to a team if I was 100 percent healthy, so we went in and had the surgery. It was in the best interest for me and the team. I thought the team would be the Indians, but I'm happy to be a Cardinal now and I plan on making the most of this opportunity."

BaseballAmerica.com: Majors: Lahey Picked First Then Traded

Pujolsfan91

Good pickup.. a 5 tool guy

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Sig from a diff site.

Rasmus future CF of the Cards!!