From the Collection: Daric Barton, 1b, Oakland Athletics

First baseman Daric Barton was a huge prospect while in the minors. Taken 28th overall by the Cardinals in the 2003 draft, from 2005-2008 he was one of the Top 65 prospects in the game. When the Oakland traded Mark Mulder in 2004 to the Cardinals, Barton, along with Kiko Calero and Dan Haren were included in the return from St. Louis. Many considered him the big prize in the deal, and he immediately became one of Oakland’s top prospects.

I would like to highlight how great of a hitter Barton was in the minors: the dude had a career line of .283/.402/.437 down there, with more walks (598) than strikeouts (502). That is something.

Barton would make the majors in 2007, and would only spend eight seasons in the majors. He would have some decent seasons, but would never quite live up to the lofty expectations that many had. He only saw more than 500 at-bats twice, though during one of those campaigns, in 2010, he did have a career season, leading the league in walks and hitting .273/.393/.405 with 10 HR.