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2007 Offense in baseball is pretty basic. If you don`t make outs, you get to keep hitting. If you get to keep hitting, you get more chances to get hits and walks. If you get more hits and walks, you`ll probably score more runs. Forget stolen bases, squeeze plays, smallball, Moneyball, medicine ball, or any other ball you can think of--scoring runs in baseball is about reaching base. Barajas is one of the worst in the game at getting to first. Despite playing in an extremely generous hitter`s park over the last three years, his OBP during that time was just .294. Over that same period, the average American League hitter`s OBP was .336. The average catcher, a group which includes Barajas, had a .325 OBP during that time. Barajas hits a few home runs, and they`re legit--his power isn`t just a gift from the ballpark. If the Rangers had no alternative to Barajas in the organization, that would have been an adequate consolation prize. The Rangers, though, had Gerald Laird, a more rounded hitter, so that excuse doesn`t wash. Finally wising up with the departure of Buck Showalter, the Rangers let Barajas leave as a free agent. He signed with Philadelphia, where he`ll once again block a better player in Carlos Ruiz. 2006 In his second season as a Ranger regular, Barajas improved his hitting away from Arlington, boosting it from .221/.262/.401 to .250/.318/.520.? The only problem was that his hitting at home dropped to .257/.293/.414, which leaves him in much the same place that he began. The 21 home runs are nice, but Barajas` career line stands at .236/.278/.410, and he`s still in Gerald Laird`s way. Like a latter-day Rick Cerone circa 1980, we`ll look back at Barajas` 2005 and end up using that as an explanation for every subsequent contract he signs. 2005 This is a ballplayer that will keep your team out of contention. There exists no major league club that should give Barajas more than about 80 at-bats, and those should be primarily against pitchers like Lefty Grove, Eddie Cicotte, and J.T. Walsh, all of whom are dead. Barajas swings hard and occasionally hits the ball over the fence. But mostly he just plain cannot hit, which one can't help but think has enhanced his defensive reputation. The idea that Barajas has taken even one plate appearance away from someone that might develop, someday, into some sort of deserving major leaguer, is nuts. Away from Arlington, he hit .221/.262/.401. Uh, no, thank you. 2003 Rany Jazayerli has a postulate that eventually, backup catchers will have a season in which they go Junior Ortiz on the league, and hit .300 as a fluke. If Barajas does that, he could actually have some value because unlike the Junior Ortizes of the world, he can occasionally pound a ball. He’s 27 and his playing pattern will be strange, so maybe this is Rod’s year. 2002 Barajas would be the ideal backup catcher for a team whose starter was a defensive whiz but a little lacking at the plate, especially against left-handers. The Diamondbacks aren’t that team. He hasn’t walked much in the minors but has pop, smacking the PCL around as a repeater this year; he’s worth a second look to see if he can hit enough to overcome his defensive shortcomings. 2001 There’s a difference between feeling good that an undrafted free agent got this far and thinking he’s a prospect. If the Snakes had a great catcher, or if Brad Cresse turns into one, Rod Barajas would be an adequate backup. Right now, the Snakes have an adequate catching tandem. If Barajas pushes past either Kelly Stinnett or Damian Miller, something has gone terribly wrong. 2000 Barajas was named the best defensive catcher in the Texas League in 1999 by Baseball America. He has some pop, which is always useful behind the plate. He could stick around for a few years as a backup, but he’s just too impatient a hitter to have much impact in the major leagues. 1999 Catching suspect who took a step forward as a high-A repeater. His defense gets good marks, and there are some serious opportunities for a quality catcher in this organization. Especially if Damian Miller loses the pictures he has of Joe Garagiola Jr., Wendy Selig-Prieb, and all that Jell-o. Mmm... lime.
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