Brandon Barnes Making Changes To Approach At Plate

Jul 28, 2014; Chicago, IL, USA; Colorado Rockies right fielder Brandon Barnes (1) hits a double against the Chicago Cubs during the fifth inning at Wrigley Field. Mandatory Credit: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Brandon Barnes spent 2014 as a pinch-hitter and utility outfielder for the Rockies, hitting .257/.293/.425 with eight home runs and 17 doubles across 313 plate appearances.

He struck out an even 100 times (a whopping 31.9% rate) and only walked 15 times (hence the very poor on-base percentage), but he plays pretty good defense, has some power, and is a good athlete, so the Rockies have a good enough slightly-above-replacement-level outfield option on the bench in Barnes.

However, he wasn’t happy with his performance, and more specifically, with his constant tinkering and changing his approach at the plate.

Speaking to A.J. Cassavell and MLB.com, Barnes said:

"When I got home last year, I did a lot of what I’d call soul searching — just trying to figure out who I was. I did so much tinkering the year before. So I just sat down and tried to figure out who I was and the things I could get better at."

It’s smart that Barnes (really, that anybody) recognizes constant in-season tinkering to an approach could be detrimental.

But then things fall off the rails a bit:

"Barnes made a drastic adjustment to his swing, adding a leg kick that he says will help with his timing. He also spent hours dissecting film of his own at-bats, trying to decipher his weak spots."

Hmm. Soul searching, and a desire to stop the tinkering don’t usually lead a player to adopt a “drastic” leg kick.

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Typically, you’d think a player with contact problems and a low slash line would want to simplify their approach while cutting down on the tinkering, and doing the simple, standard adjustments that most hitters do in that realm: widen the stance, shorten the hands, cut down the stride, cut out a leg kick, and keep it straight to the ball.

Not Barnes. It will be interesting to see this “drastic” leg kick in action during the regular season to see if it works.

I’m certainly no hitting coach, and Barnes knows perhaps a thing or two (or a hundred) more than I do about hitting, but hearing a player who struggled making contact one year added a leg kick before the next season raises a red flag.

As of press time, during Spring Training, Barnes is hitting a meager .200/.333/.225 in 48 plate appearances, but he has walked eight times against just six strikeouts.

We’ll soon know how the leg kick works – or, if it even makes it through the entire season, since Barnes has already proven to be a tinker-er during the year. But for now, put me on the record as skeptical about this adjustment. What about you?