Interesting story from Jane Lee of MLB.com about the Athletics’ Jeremy Barfield, who is busy making the transition from position player to pitcher.
Jeremy, the son of former major league outfielder Jesse Barfield, was informed about his move to the mound back in July. An eighth-round pick of Oakland in 2008, the 25-year-old posted a .261/.329/.399 batting line over parts of six seasons in the minors and didn’t appear likely to reach the majors as a position player. The A’s have always been intrigued by his arm strength from the left side, so they are hoping he can follow a similar path as Sean Doolittle, who has made the switch from oft-injured first base prospect to one of the most dominant relievers in the American League.
Barfield started out in the instructional league and recently spent some time in the Dominican Republic for winter ball. A’s director of player development Keith Lieppman understandably still considers him “raw” at this point in his development, but he’s topping out at 93 mph with his fastball and also throws a slider and split-finger.
Interestingly, Barfield learned his slider in part due to former All-Star Dontrelle Willis, whom he met while doing his other job of hanging up Christmas lights on houses in Arizona. Most of those houses are owned by major league players. Barfield uses his second job as a motivational tool.
Really cool story. Barfield is very active on Twitter, so be sure to follow his journey there.
