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Oakland Athletics’ Spring Training Non-Roster Invitees: Franklin Barreto

By Katrina Hamrick

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A look at the Oakland Athletics’ non-roster invitees for Spring Training: who will make the cut?

Oakland Athletics’ shortstop prospect Franklin Barreto is perhaps the most highly-anticipated player on the non-roster invite list, not because of his chances to make the big league squad, but because he was ranked as the top prospect in the Oakland system by Baseball America last week.

Barreto is just 19 years old, and he’s a fairly small guy for a professional athlete. At just 5’9” and 175 pounds, according to his Baseball-Reference page, Barreto is built like Boston Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Shortstops aren’t typically known for their size and strength, but it is worth noting. For comparison’s sake, Marcus Semien is 6’1” and 195 pounds – considerably taller than Barreto.

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Barreto’s size hasn’t held him back so far, though. Last season, he hit .302/.333/.500 with the High-A Stockton Ports. In 338 at-bats, he hit 13 home runs, 22 doubles and three triples, in addition to swiping eight bases. This was actually a downgrade from his prior season with Toronto’s Low-A team, when he hit .311/.384/.481 and stole 29 bases, although he only hit 6 homers in 289 at-bats that season.

Barreto has a nice combination of power and speed, but you shouldn’t need anyone to tell you that in today’s baseball system, a High-A player isn’t going to suddenly steal a major league roster spot no matter how well he plays in Spring Training. He also spent time in the outfield while playing Winter League baseball this offseason, which indicates that the Athletics have further plans for his development.

Teams typically utilize a lot of their top prospects as mid- or late-inning replacements, once the best players have already put in their work and headed off for the golf course. Barreto will have a chance to show fans what he can do, sign some autographs, and get a little clubhouse experience with the major league squad. While it will be a great experience for him in terms of intangibles – mingling with veterans is certainly a good way to learn not just leadership and off-field skills, but perhaps even get a few on-field pointers – Barreto is, in the end, just 19 years old.

Chances of Making the Club:

Absolutely none. There’s no scenario – injuries, trades, or poor play – that could combine with an outstanding performance by Barreto to warrant giving him a major league roster spot anytime this season. He’s the Athletics’ brightest star, but he’s a long way from representing the Green and Gold at the O.co Coliseum anytime soon.

Prediction for Next Season:

Although he had a rough winter league season (.174/.240/.279 in 96 at-bats) a good bet for Barreto is that he will be slated to start the season in Double-A. So far, Barreto has progressed fairly steadily through the system, and it’s good that the Athletics aren’t interested in rushing him. They have a lot of interesting middle infield prospects in their system, but Barreto is by far the best. Midland is a notoriously pitcher-friendly park, so another safe bet is that Barreto will finally meet his match in the Texas League. Still, he’s a very talented hitter, so expect him to make adjustments accordingly. We’ve seen both speed and power on display from him offensively, which gives him an advantage. Perhaps he’ll need to return to a more speed-based campaign this season, rather than relying on home runs, since the ball doesn’t exactly fly out of the park in Midland.

Next: Is Lucroy a Fit for the Oakland A's

Barreto is exciting, but his major league debut is still far away. With that in mind, are you most looking forward to seeing him at Spring Training, or are you more interested in players who could have an impact in 2016?