Oakland A’s: The long awaited breakout of Franklin Barreto

After years of waiting, the Oakland A’s may finally get the breakout they have been waiting for from Franklin Barreto.

For years, the Oakland A’s have been waiting for Franklin Barreto to show anything at the major league level. The four time consensus top 100 prospects, and one of the keys to the Josh Donaldson trade, was considered a future star for the A’s. He had displayed that potential throughout his minor league career, a solid player in every facet of the game.

However, that production has not translated to the major league level. In his 209 plate appearances over three seasons, Barreto has produced a .189/.220/.378 batting line, hitting nine homers and seven doubles while striking out 85 times. Barreto is seemingly on the cusp of being labeled as a Quad-A player – one who can perform well in the upper levels of the minors, but just does not have what it takes to succeed in the majors.

Barreto also finds himself in a make or break season. He is out of minor league options, forcing the A’s to keep him on the major league roster or to expose him to waivers. For his part, Barreto was on his way to forcing the A’s to keep him around when spring training came to a screeching halt, with 11 hits in 39 plate appearances, including four doubles and two triples.

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That excellent showing has continued forward into the A’s summer camp. Despite the long layoff, Barreto has come out swinging, belting home runs against Liam Hendriks and Frankie Montas. Now there is hope that this is more than just a hot start, and that Barreto is about to finally break out and reach his potential.

As impressive as he has been, this is nothing new. Barreto has displayed a history of hitting well in March, but has not been able to continue that success when the games actually matter. His performance thus far in summer camp is certainly encouraging, but should not lead to more than cautious optimism.

The opportunity is there. Second base is currently expected to be a platoon between he and Tony Kemp, but nothing is set in stone. If one of that duo gets off to a hot start, they can easily get more playing time. But can Barreto seize that chance?

That is one of the biggest questions facing the Oakland A’s right now. Franklin Barreto is on a tear right now, but he needs to prove that he can continue that production into the season.