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Rod Barajas
Toronto Blue Jays [ Team Audit ] [ Depth Chart ]
Catcher
Bats R
Age 33
6' 2"
230 lbs.

Player Profile

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Sections
Historical Stats | 2009 Forecast | Diagnostics | Seven-Year Forecast | Valuation | Most Comparable Players | Player Comments

Projected Playing Time

Blue Jays Depth Chart (updated: 08-09)
PosOrderNamePT%PA AVG R HR RBI SB OBP SLG VORP
C 9 Rod Barajas 60 129 .244 14 4 18 0 .285 .398 0.4
1   2009 Total 60 129 .244 14 4 18 0 .285 .398 0.4

Historical Stats

-- Equivalents --
Year Tm Lg PA R 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS EqBRR AVG OBP SLG MLVr AVG OBP SLG EqA VORP Defense WARP
2006 TEX MLB 371 49 20 0 11 41 17 51 0 0 -0.5 .256 .298 .410 -.154 .246 .292 .401 .238 0.9 93-C 1 1.0
2007 LWD A 19 0 2 0 0 2 3 6 0 0 -0.1 .375 .474 .500 -.460 .176 .263 .235 .171 -2.0 -0.2
2007 PHI MLB 146 16 8 0 4 10 21 24 0 1 -0.5 .230 .352 .393 -.067 .223 .352 .397 .262 3.6 34-C 3 0.9
2008 TOR MLB 377 44 23 0 11 49 17 61 0 0 -4.9 .249 .294 .410 -.121 .249 .294 .421 .245 4.6 88-C 9 2.0


EQA Distribution

Seven-Year WARP

2009 Forecast

(projection generated 3/8/09 12:02 AM)
-- Equivalents --
Percentile PA R 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS EqBRR AVG OBP SLG MLVr AVG OBP SLG EqA VORP Defense WARP
90o 321 45 19 1 11 41 24 53 1 1 -2.0 .286 .349 .475 .093 .287 .350 .486 .287 19.7 78-C 1 3.1
75o 291 33 16 1 9 35 21 49 1 0 -1.7 .258 .320 .424 -.048 .259 .322 .434 .262 8.3 71-C 0 2.0
60o 273 28 15 1 7 31 19 47 1 0 -1.5 .243 .304 .395 -.127 .244 .306 .404 .247 2.8 67-C 0 1.4
50o 265 25 14 1 7 30 18 46 1 0 -1.4 .236 .297 .382 -.160 .237 .299 .392 .240 0.6 65-C 0 1.2
40o 253 22 13 1 6 28 17 44 1 0 -1.3 .226 .286 .363 -.213 .227 .288 .372 .230 -2.5 62-C 0 0.9
25o 232 17 11 0 5 24 15 41 0 0 -1.2 .210 .270 .334 -.291 .211 .271 .342 .213 -6.6 58-C 0 0.4
10o 200 12 9 0 3 19 12 36 0 0 -0.9 .188 .246 .293 -.403 .189 .247 .300 .185 -10.8 51-C 0 -0.2
Weighted Mean 243 23 13 0 6 28 17 42 1 0 -1.4 .242 .304 .394 -.119 .243 .305 .403 .246 3.0 60-C 1 1.4

Diagnostics

Breakout Rate Improve Rate Collapse Rate Attrition Rate Beta

24%

44%

29%

36%

1.10

Seven-Year Forecast

-- Equivalents --
Year PA R 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS EqBRR AVG OBP SLG MLVr AVG OBP SLG EqA VORP Defense WARP
2009 (age 33) 243 23 13 0 6 28 17 42 1 0 -1.4 .242 .304 .394 -.119 .243 .305 .403 .246 3.0 60-C 1 1.4
2010 (age 34) 251 23 12 0 7 30 17 46 1 0 -1.0 .236 .297 .387 -.140 .240 .302 .400 .241 0.8 62-C 3 1.1
2011 (age 35) 192 15 10 0 4 21 13 36 1 0 -0.7 .235 .293 .373 -.167 .239 .298 .386 .236 -0.3 49-C 1 0.6
2012 (age 36) 197 16 10 0 5 21 12 33 1 0 -0.4 .233 .287 .377 -.175 .237 .292 .390 .233 -0.3 50-C 1 0.4
2013 (age 37)
-- out of baseball --
2014 (age 38)
-- out of baseball --
2015 (age 39)
-- out of baseball --

Platoon

Platoon AVG OBP SLG
vs LHP .255 .320 .417
vs RHP .238 .297 .379
Split +.017 +.023 +.038
LgAvg +.020 +.024 +.038

Valuation

Year BRAA FRAA Tot WARP MORP SuperVORP Upside
2009 2.5 1.0 1.4 $1,775,000 4.1 5.9
2010 1.3 3.0 1.1 $1,575,000 3.0 4.4
2011 0.0 1.0 0.6 $1,050,000 0.4 1.7
2012 -0.5 1.0 0.4 $875,000 0.2 1.6
2013
-- out of baseball --
2014
-- out of baseball --
2015
-- out of baseball --
Peak 3.7 $3,475,000 6.6 14.9


Stars & Scrubs Chart

Career Path Analysis


Seven-Year Performance
Year 75% 50% 25% Weighted Mean
2009 .262 .240 .213 .246
2010 .256 .237 .206 .241
2011 .253 .230 .212 .236
2012 .249 .231 .171 .233
2013
-- out of baseball --
2014
-- out of baseball --
2015
-- out of baseball --


Seven-Year Attrition
Year Attrition Rate Drop Rate Breakout
2009 36% 0% 24%
2010 56% 19% 15%
2011 72% 38% 13%
2012 82% 60% 12%
2013 86% 68% 6%
2014 94% 79% 6%
2015 95% 87% 3%

Most Comparable Players

Similarity Index

46

Rank Hitter Year Score Trend Rank Hitter Year Score Trend
1 Joe Oliver 1999 55 11 Matt Batts 1955 36
2 Mike Macfarlane 1998 54 12 Kevin Young 2003 35
3 Jeff Newman 1982 51 13 Ron Karkovice 1997 35
4 Gus Triandos 1964 46 14 Sandy Alomar 2000 34
5 Marc Hill 1985 43 15 Bengie Molina 2008 34
6 Buck Martinez 1982 42 16 John Flaherty 2001 33
7 Bob Boone 1981 39 17 Jerry McNertney 1970 33
8 Tom Pagnozzi 1996 38 18 Mike Matheny 2004 32
9 Bill Haselman 2000 37 19 Jim Hegan 1954 32
10 Dave Valle 1994 36 20 Jeff Conine 2000 32

Player Comments

Click on the year to report a comment problem (misspelling, premature cutoff, weird characters or rendering, etc.)

2008

Barajas was signed just in case Carlos Ruiz failed, but Ruiz would have had to fail like the Hindenberg to be worthy of replacement by a player with career .240/.282/.410 rates. Barajas was the Opening Day starter, but his bat didn't justify further playing time; all he hit was the bench, the DL with a strained groin, and finally the free agent market when the Phillies declined his option. Unsigned at press time, Barajas is best suited to be a reserve catcher, a role in which his occasional home-run power would distinguish him from the usual catch-and-throw guys.

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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