Darwin Barney named National League rookie of the month.

[Quakers]

According to CBS sports;

 

News: Cubs SS Darwin Barney has been named the National League Rookie of the Month for the April. Barney hit .326 (29-for-89) during the month with one home run and 14 RBI, which ranked second among Major League rookies. He also belted four doubles, two triples, 15 runs scored and one stolen base to go along with a .351 on-base percentage and a .449 slugging percentage.

Analysis: Barney continues to rake for the Cubs and was rewarded on Monday for his fast start to the season. The one knock on him is his lack of power, although he has more than made up for that in other areas at the plate. Fantasy owners in deeper mixed leagues might want to think about taking a look at Barney while he is swinging the bat so well.

 

 

If this posted elsewhere...sorry

[tfarks]

Could not have predicted this at the beginning of the season.

[Quakers]

I am surprised to see that Barney is not getting more praise here. But I guess that I am biased. Darwin is from Portland, Or., which is where I live. His success with the Cubs and being a leader on two National Championship teams (Oregon State) means that the local paper is giving him a lot of coverage.

 

I hope he continues to surprise people. From everything I have seen, he seems to be a class act.

[shnsajax]

I really didn't realize he was hitting that high.

[Prizefight]

If Mid-March, someone gave me Castro's, Barney's, Soriano's and Aramis' stats for the month of April, I would have put the Cubs 6 games over .500 at least.

 

Stupid starting pitching

 

Very happy for Darwin.

[SouthSideRyan]

If Mid-March, someone gave me Castro's, Barney's, Soriano's and Aramis' stats for the month of April, I would have put the Cubs 6 games over .500 at least.

 

Castro and Ramirez are underperforming my expectations.

[Sammy Sofa]

Yeah, Aramis' numbers aren't very impressive at all given his role on the team.

[dew1679666265]

If Mid-March, someone gave me Castro's, Barney's, Soriano's and Aramis' stats for the month of April, I would have put the Cubs 6 games over .500 at least.

 

Castro and Ramirez are underperforming my expectations.

 

You thought Castro would be better than .315/.341/.417 with a .343 wOBA so far? Those are some high expectations for him. His .336 BABIP isn't even all that high.

 

As for Barney, I love what he's doing so far. Both he and Castro are a bit low on the IsoD side (.026 for Starlin, .023 for Barney), but neither are sporting super high BABIPs either. If Darwin can keep giving us around a .300 avg with around a .350 OBP, he'll be better than I thought and useful while cheap. A better version of Theriot at this point.

[SouthSideRyan]

If Mid-March, someone gave me Castro's, Barney's, Soriano's and Aramis' stats for the month of April, I would have put the Cubs 6 games over .500 at least.

 

Castro and Ramirez are underperforming my expectations.

 

You thought Castro would be better than .315/.341/.417 with a .343 wOBA so far?

 

Yes

[dew1679666265]

If Mid-March, someone gave me Castro's, Barney's, Soriano's and Aramis' stats for the month of April, I would have put the Cubs 6 games over .500 at least.

 

Castro and Ramirez are underperforming my expectations.

 

You thought Castro would be better than .315/.341/.417 with a .343 wOBA so far?

 

Yes

 

What were you expecting?

[javy knows my name]

Didn't ask me, but slightly better isoP, for starters

[SouthSideRyan]

If Mid-March, someone gave me Castro's, Barney's, Soriano's and Aramis' stats for the month of April, I would have put the Cubs 6 games over .500 at least.

 

Castro and Ramirez are underperforming my expectations.

 

You thought Castro would be better than .315/.341/.417 with a .343 wOBA so far?

 

Yes

 

What were you expecting?

 

360/450

[dew1679666265]

Didn't ask me, but slightly better isoP, for starters

 

IsoP or IsoD? His IsoP is .102 which is pretty good, I think. His IsoD is pretty low, but his patience is still developing and I didn't really expect him to be real patient this year. It's lower than I had hoped at this point, but not considerably so.

[dew1679666265]

360/450

 

The OBP I can see, but that's a lot of slugging to add after slugging .408 last year. I'm just happy to see an improvement in his slugging from his 20 year old year to his 21 year old year.

[javy knows my name]

Didn't ask me, but slightly better isoP, for starters

 

IsoP or IsoD? His IsoP is .102 which is pretty good, I think. His IsoD is pretty low, but his patience is still developing and I didn't really expect him to be real patient this year. It's lower than I had hoped at this point, but not considerably so.

 

IsoP - I was thinking around the same SLG as SSR. I would love more isoD...but I didn't expect it until he showed more power first.

[dew1679666265]

Didn't ask me, but slightly better isoP, for starters

 

IsoP or IsoD? His IsoP is .102 which is pretty good, I think. His IsoD is pretty low, but his patience is still developing and I didn't really expect him to be real patient this year. It's lower than I had hoped at this point, but not considerably so.

 

IsoP - I was thinking around the same SLG as SSR. I would love more isoD...but I didn't expect it until he showed more power first.

 

Huh, I guess my power expectations for Starlin were lower than some. After a .408 SLG last year, a jump up to .450 seems significant for a 21 year old SS who doesn't have a lot of natural muscle.

 

His IsoP last year was .108 and it's .102 this year, so I can see from that perspective where you'd want it to have improved, but I guess I'm just not ready to say he's underperforming in that area.

[Soul]

He's good, and not gritty.

 

I like.

[Derwood]

He's good, and not gritty.

 

I like.

 

not white enough to be gritty

[Hairyducked Idiot]

Good things happen when he's in the game. Or even in the area.

[SweetZombieJesus]

I am surprised to see that Barney is not getting more praise here.

 

 

Really? He's kinda gritty and grindy.

[Soul]

I am surprised to see that Barney is not getting more praise here.

 

 

Really? He's kinda gritty and grindy.

 

No, please stop.

[NewUserName]

I am happy that Barney has played well...I fear though that he will be given way to much rope when things start going badly, now that he has started so well.

[Little Slide Rooter]

I didnt realise that Barney was OPSing .800. Or that he was our shortstop.

[dew1679666265]

I am happy that Barney has played well...I fear though that he will be given way to much rope when things start going badly, now that he has started so well.

 

Kind of like with first base, I don't know that we have any better options than to give Barney some extra leeway. If this start is just a mirage for Barney, DeWitt might be a better option but management seems to have no confidence in him at all. Baker is a great option against lefties, but absolutely horrid against righties and isn't an option to play full time.

 

So benching him probably won't happen even if he cools down considerably. If you're talking about leaving him in the two-spot for too long if he cools down, however, you may be right there. However, getting Pena and Byrd hitting again would allow Quade to do what he originally wanted to with Kosuke and Starlin in the top two spots - which means Barney would naturally shift down. If those two don't pick it up considerably, however, Barney may hang out up there by default.

[Little Slide Rooter]

Its easy to sit and wait for him to crash down to earth, which could happen, but maybe...just maybe our 3 million dollar hitting guru has had something to do with it. Its not like hes putting up some monsterous, unsustainable numbers here. Hes been a very pleasant surprise. In the minors, he always hit for decent average, not a ton of walks and not much slugging. The difference is, hes added some extra base hits here and there. I wouldnt be surprised at all if he settled in to similar to his minor league line of .286/.334/.374/.708, maybe a touch higher on the slugging.