The Addison Barger Breakout has Arrived
A Blog By Robbie
For today’s blog, I’m stepping away from the prospect breakdowns. Instead, I’m focusing on the Jays’ latest breakout bat—Addison Barger, the powerful 6-foot, 210-pounder from Washington.. In short, this guy has been on an absolute tear, and he helped propel the Jays to sweep the struggling Athletics this past weekend with a 3-run moonshot to take the lead in the eighth inning. The Blue Jays delivered 31 runs while launching 10 homers in the four-game set. Even with the entire lineup producing, Barger was still the talk of the town. The left-handed hitting Barger went 5-for-13 with three homers and six RBIs.
In the series, he hit three nukes, and here’s the distance and exit velocities on each of them:
109.8 MPH, 406 FT
109.4 MPH, 428 FT
112.3 MPH, 412 FT
As you can see, he is pummeling the baseball as of late, and in my eyes, we are currently witnessing a major breakout. Baseballs should legitimately be scared of Addison Barger when he’s at the dish. Here’s some more proof for you… in his last 31 games, he is slashing .301/.368/.544 with a .912 OPS, which has helped the Jays go 19-12 over the stretch. In May, Barger’s average exit velocity (95.9 MPH) and hard-hit rate (62.7%) led the American League, even ahead of Aaron Judge. Stats do not lie; the 176th overall pick in 2018 is a better hitter than Aaron Judge. I’m kidding, but I can legitimately say that he is my favourite Blue Jay right now. He swings with so much authority, the breakout is simply entertaining to watch.
Fans of Barger caught some glimpses of this before, since he swings that bat as hard as anyone. Barger, with a body that wouldn’t look out of place on a football field, swings violently. Until now, it’s all felt pretty raw, but the Blue Jays are finally seeing it all come together. Barger’s average exit velocity (mph) only sits behind Oneil Cruz (97.3), Shohei Ohtani (96.0), and Aaron Judge (95.6)... some pretty decent company. Since his recall from Triple-A Buffalo on April 15, Barger has forced the team’s hand in every way possible. Manager John Schneider now pencils him in almost daily, especially after that A’s series.
Scout the Statline (StS) is projecting some more moonshots out of Barger this year. Their Peak Projections mention 24 home runs, with a slashline of .248/.319/.433 with a 112.4 wRC+ by the end of the season. StS also projects a 9% walk rate (one point more than his current 8%) and a 25% strikeout rate. Although the strikeout rate is a little staggering, he is still sending balls to Mars, which makes everything feel better.
Andrés Giménez is coming off the injured list quad injury, which has resulted in a bit of a question mark. However, I, along with pretty much every Blue Jays fan, will be shocked if he gets any less playing time. A defensive shakeup for the Blue Birds will most likely occur. With Giménez set to reclaim second base, Ernie Clement, who’s been red hot as well, will probably get bumped, and we may see Barger back in right field, which will also lead to George Springer getting some more reps in the designated hitter role.
The bottom line? Addison Barger is becoming an integral part of this lineup, and we should see him out there damn near every day.
UPDATE: I didn’t even have time to edit and release this blog before Barger went yard again. This time, a 373-foot two-run missile that was shot out at 100 mph.
So, let’s review:
Friday: Home run
Saturday: Home run
Sunday: Home run
Monday: Off
Tuesday: Home run
Not bad.