Charlie Barnes - 2018

[TwinsFanGreg]

http://www.milb.com/images/656212/t576/180x270/656212.jpg

 

Charlie Barnes, a 22-year-old left-handed pitcher from South Carolina, was a fourth round draft pick for the Twins in 2017. He posted a 3.85 ERA in three seasons with the Clemson Tigers before being drafted after his junior year. His first professional season started out in Elizabethton making 5 starts before being promoted to Cedar Rapids and making 6 additional starts. In his first two starts with the Kernels he totaled 9 shutout innings with 11 strikeouts and only 2 walks before hitting some bumps in two of his last 4 starts.

 

Known as a crafty left-hander, His fastball can touch 90 at times but he relies on movement and his changeup to keep batters off balance. According to Baseball America Barnes keeps the ball low and can paint the corners with his mid-70s changeup and he also maintains a curveball and a slider in his arsenal. Barnes is expected to pan out as a back of the rotation starter.

 

Barnes was a guest on Seth Stohs “On Deck” podcast where he talked about how he’s a Braves fan (good thing he wasn’t around for 1991!) and his experience in the Twins organization so far.

 

Here are some extra nuggets I found:

 

Highlights of Barnes pitching in the 2017 ACC tournament against Duke

 

Draft report from MLB.com

 

 

[TwinsFanGreg]

Seth Stohs caught a couple pictures of Barnes throwing in Twins minor league camp this past week. 

 

 

 

[TwinsFanGreg]

Slow-mo of a Barnes pitch during a spring training bullpen session. He totally froze that batter!! 

 

[ashbury]

Is that slo-mo of Barnes, or regular speed of Mike Pelfrey?

[TwinsFanGreg]

Barnes made his first start of the 2018 season in Ft Myers on Saturday against the Charlotte Stone Crabs. He went 4.2 innings striking out 8 and only walking 1, which is a pretty good sign. However he did give up 5 earned runs including a couple of 2-run homers which really hurt. One of the home runs came right away in the first inning. Barnes then settled down and pitched pretty well until the 5th when he was lifted after giving up his second long ball. 

 

Overall he gets an "L" for his first effort of the season, however I like the 8 strike outs. One of his strengths is his change up which keeps hitters off balance. Hopefully we can continue to see these same walk and strike out numbers from him over the rest of the season. 

[goulik]

 

Is that slo-mo of Barnes, or regular speed of Mike Pelfrey?

Yes