Skip to main content

Barnes Benefits From Training and MLB Exposure

LAKEWOOD, NJ- Minor leaguer Jeremy Barnes is starting out the 2011 season with the same team he was with last year, but if you ask Barnes, he'd tell you that he has absolutely made progress. Barnes, an infielder with the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws, spent his winter in the home town of his MLB parent club, the Philadelphia Phillies, working on improving himself as an athlete.

Barnes was selected in the 11th round of the 2009 amateur draft out of the University of Notre Dame. As a member of the Fighting Irish, Barnes had his first connection to the Phillies organization even before he was drafted. While there, he wore the same jersey number, 20, that Philadelphia reliever Brad Lidge once sported while on the Notre Dame baseball team.

Barnes, who turns 24-years-old this week, has been an all-star in each of his two professional seasons. In 2009 he batted .287 with 4 homers and 27 RBI in 55 games to become an all-star for the short-season Williamsport Crosscutters of the New York-Penn League, then in 2010, he posted a .292 average with 4 homeruns and 51 RBI in 109 games and represented the BlueClaws in the South Atlantic League All-star Game.

Despite that solid success, however, the right-handed hitting Barnes had an opportunity to improve during the winter months and he took advantage of it. Barnes received a proposal to reside in Philadelphia throughout the off-season and work out at the Power Train Sports Institute from a contact within the Phillies organization.

"I know a guy named Rob Potts, who throws batting practice for the Phillies, that asked if I wanted to come work out at Power Train and hit in the cages, so I took him up on the offer," Barnes said. "It was great and I plan on doing it again next off-season."

Power Train is known for hosting, and providing elite training to, professional athletes in varying sports at the company's locations all over the region.

"I had a really productive off-season. I ended up working out with (Phillies left fielder) Raul Ibanez four or five days a week. It was a good situation with me, had a lot of fun and learned a lot," Barnes said.

Both Barnes and Ibanez, who met at the company's Cherry Hill, NJ training center, worked closely with the staff, who provided a conditioning and strengthening routine designed to develop endurance and enhance performance.

"It wasn't necessarily Raul's (routine) or mine that we did, but we had trainers and we'd go and meet there and do their routines and go hit on our own. My trainer, Ryan Stack, was unbelievable. I worked closely with him and I think I gained a lot of strength and he got me where I need to be," Barnes added.

The hard work paid off quickly for the 5-foot-10-inch, 195 pound Barnes, who has been manning 3rd base on the field and had a strong spring. Lakewood manager Chris Truby took notice and has penciled Barnes, who batted toward the bottom of the BlueClaws' batting order last season, into the third spot in the lineup for the two-time defending South Atlantic League champions.

"I feel good with where my swing is, I'm a year older and hopefully better prepared. As far as hitting in the 3 hole, I'm still trying to accomplish the same things...still trying to hit the ball hard. When guys are on, the goal is to drive them in, whether I'm in the 3 hole or in the 9 hole."

Barnes was fortunate enough to test his extensive off-season work during spring training by facing a few Major League pitchers. AJ Burnett of the Yankees, the Phillies' own Roy Oswalt and Brett Cecil from the Blue Jays were the established hurlers that Barnes batted against in Florida this spring. Barnes saw success against the big shots, slamming a homer off of Burnett and lacing a double against Cecil.

"It was just big to see that I could get in there and have success at that level and against big league pitching. Now, I just want to keep using what I worked on in the off-season and keep growing in myself and in what I am trying to accomplish at the plate. I had a good spring training and now I'm ready for the full season." ___________________________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

You can also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Lidge Shaky, T-Mac Honored in Trenton

TRENTON, NJ- Brad Lidge made his second rehab appearance for the Double A Reading Phillies on Thursday night and it didn't go as well as the veteran reliever or the team had hoped. Lidge struggled with his command and turned in a rather poor outing for the club that entered the night in a playoff race, 1 game behind division rival Trenton for the Wild Card spot in the Eastern Division. On the disabled list since spring training with a strained right rotator cuff, Lidge experienced an elbow strain when he was working back from that issue in late May. In his outing against the Yankees affiliate in Trenton, Lidge displayed difficulty with his control as he threw three wild pitches, hit two batters, walked another and gave up a single, all while letting up two earned runs on 28 pitches in 2/3 of an inning. After the disappointing performance, Lidge was composed and focused on some positive aspects, having reached 89 and 90 MPH on scouts' radar guns, according to some reports. ...

A Letter to This Guy

Dear Cardinals fan, When a homerun ball is hit in your direction, do not close your eyes and raise both hands far above your head, leaving your face/chest/neck/head defenseless. Jayson Werth long balls to the cranium are probably not very comfortable. Next time, let the guy in the pajama pants behind you take a crack at it. He may not know how to dress well, but he keeps his eyes open in the face of killer shots from World Champion outfielders. Love, PhoulBallz.com PS- Stay hot.

Kendrick & LaGrossa- Second Phils/Survivor Marriage

On Saturday, Phillies pitcher Kyle Kendrick married 3-time Survivor contestant and former Flyers employee Stephenie LaGrossa. The couple exchanged vows in front of 105 guests at the Silverado Resort in Napa, California. Their special day featured many personalized aspects, including cocktail hour snacks modeled in the fashion of mini Philly cheesesteaks, as well as the couple's two dogs, Bebe and Champ, serving as flower girl and ring bearer during the ceremony. The pets wore a white dress and a tuxedo, respectively. Kendrick is now the second Phillies pitcher to marry a former contestant of the CBS reality competition program, as lefty Cole Hamels wedded Heidi Strobel, who appeared on the sixth season of Survivor, in 2007. _________________________________________________________________ Be sure to follow PhoulBallz.com on Twitter, for updates, stats and info, by clicking HERE . Photos- People.com