Houston Astros outfielder Brandon Barnes impresses in Venezuelan Winter League- MLB News
Houston Astros centre fielder Brandon Barnes has kept himself on the ball field during the off-season as he took part in the Venezuelan Winter League. The 26-year-old had a good time during his month long stint and posted even better numbers in Venezuela.
Brandon said that he had developed patience during the event and was now able to tap his aggression with patience which paid rich dividends and expects his performance to improve further during the 2013 Major League season. He also said that he was a lot
more comfortable with two strike counts than before.
"I felt like I was doing my job, seeing as many pitches as I could and battling and working out of two-strike counts," he said. "I felt more comfortable with two-strike counts. Toward the end, I put everything together and put my aggressive approach with
my patience, and I really felt it worked out. I'm going to benefit next year by doing that."
Barnes posted a .292 batting average in 28 games, with 20 runs batted in and going long on four occasions. He had six extra base hits in his 31 hits for the Leones del Caracas team.
He made his Major League debut earlier in 2012. In the 43 games that he played in, he posted a .204 batting average and an even .250 on-base percentage. In 98 at-bats, he managed 20 hits, scoring eight runs and batting in seven runs. He also hit one home-run
in the brief opportunity that he had after starting out in early part of August.
He had a good time on the Minors prior to making his debut for the Astros. In a season where he played for the Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Oklahoma City, he managed a .321 batting average along with 69 RBI’s, 21 stolen bases and 12 home-runs.
The outfielder is confident that he will be able to grab a permanent spot in the Astros lineup and for that he will give it his all in the next few months of the off-season.
"That's my goal, is to win a job and be an everyday outfielder for the Astros," Brandon said. "I'm going to work my butt off these next three months and never stop grinding. It's been my dream since I was little, and I'm going to leave it all on the field."
Barnes is a useful outfielder and during 2012, he did not commit a single error in 68 chances that he had in three different outfield positions. It’s a statistic that the Astros will certainly be appreciative of.
Brandon Barnes has shown a lot of promise in the limited playing opportunities that he has had so far. It is for him now to continue the good work and grab his opportunities at the big stage whenever they are presented to him.
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