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Jacob Barnes' LinkedIn Profile:  

Remember former Brewer Jacob Barnes?  No, not Oliver Drake, that was the other guy.  Jacob Barnes was a very average relief pitcher when he was a Brewer.  He was selected by Milwaukee in the fourteenth round of the 2011 draft, came up to the big leagues in 2016, and was waived by Milwaukee during the 2019 season.    

During his time with the Brewers, Barnes had a 3.93 ERA and a 1.359 WHIP.   In the days before pitch clocks, Jacob Barnes took his time on the mound, often turning an inning into a saga that included many deep counts and lots of runners on base.  When Barnes was entering games, fans often thought, “Jacob Barnes, why didn’t they bring in that other guy?” and then fell asleep before his inning of pitching was completed.  In his 167 innings pitching for the Brewers, Jacob Barnes amassed a .5 total WAR. 

And although Jacob Barnes was extremely average as a Brewer, what is truly remarkable is what Barnes has done since leaving the organization in 2019. He has been consistently very bad.  But he continues to pitch major league innings each year. Barnes has pitched for eleven different major league organizations and never had an ERA below 5.50 for any team! His WAR since leaving the Brewers is a terrible -1.3 in just ninety-four innings. 

How does Jacob Barnes keep getting a job as a major league pitcher?  He is cheap and available.  He most often signs a minor league contracts with a major league option that pays the league minimum.  From there he works release options till finally being picked up by one of the teams with the worse pitching in baseball.  That team can shuttle Barnes back and forth to the minors and not worry about using up a prospect’s options or starting their major league clock.  Bad teams appreciate this value he brings to their organization. Last year he found innings with the St. Louis Cardinals.  Their pitching was terrible. Barnes fit right in.    

Barnes has made a career out of being a bad pitcher that can cheaply take the ball to fill meaningless innings.  Jacob Barnes is one step above having Rowdy Tellez pitch.  Barnes will likely latch onto some other team with terrible pitching this off season and throw around thirty innings in the majors in 2024.  You will know the Brewers aren’t expecting to compete, if they resign Jacob Barnes. 

Jacob Barnes deserves a lot of credit for finding a way to stay in the game.  Over his career he has earned approximately $3 million dollars for being just bad enough to only earn the minimum salary. 

Entries in this blog

Brewers

Bally Bankruptcy Short and Long Term Impact

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Brewers

When Do The Brewers Trade a Catcher?

Any discussion of the Brewers trading a catcher begins with looking at the progress made by William Contreras.  During the off season prior to the 2023 season, the Brewers were part of the three-team trade that brought Contreras to the Brewers from the Atlanta Braves.  At the time Contreras was seen as a young player with great offensive upside but also as a defensive liability.  The offensive profile didn’t change during Contreras’ first season with the Brewers. (.289 average, .367 OBP, .
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Brewers

Freshmen -- The Sequel

The Brewers spent a lot of time and energy promoting “The Freshmen” during the 2023 season.  They invited fans into a reality show about the future of the team.  Unfortunately, the reality was that this group of players weren’t as good as many fans hoped once they got to The Show. Mitchell has shown promise, but he has some peripheral stats that could be red flags and he may be injury prone. Turang has found a way to strike out much more at the MLB level. Weimer isn't Hunter Pence and perha
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Brewers

Overcrowding in the Outfield?

As we look towards 2024, one position of strength on the Brewers seems to be outfield.  The Brewers have five outfielders coming back that played in at least fifty games during 2023: Joey Wiemer (132 games), Christian Yelich (122)  Tyrone Taylor (75) Blake Perkins (61) and Sal Frelick (55).  If you add Garrett Mitchell, who prior to injury was penciled in as the starting center fielder in 2023, there are six outfielders.  And there is a hope that top prospect Jackson Chourio will perform well an
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Manager

Craig Counsell to the Cubs: It was in his nature

There is the parable of the scorpion and the frog.  The scorpion asks the frog to carry him across the river and then halfway across the river, the scorpion stings the frog.  The frog asks, “Why? We are both going to die.” The scorpion replies that he couldn’t help himself, “It is in my nature. It is how I am.” At first look, Craig Counsell leaving his home town team, to go to the arch rivals may seem very wrong.  Counsell is a Brewer.  It is who he is.     But like all of us, Counsell
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Bashopolis in Manager

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