Barnum starting to find his groove at the plate

Dash slugger Keon Barnum has driven in 19 runs during a 25-game stretch in July.

It wasn’t that long ago when Keon Barnum of the Winston-Salem Dash stood out as a prized college baseball prospect. Initially, he made a verbal commitment to play for “The U” (in Miami in Fla.).

But once the pro scouts began to take notice, Barnum’s thinking shifted dramatically.

After turning in a couple of impressive pro workouts, the Chicago White Sox made Barnum its first-round draft pick (48^th overall) after his high school graduation in 2012.

Barnum, whose home is Tampa, Fla., never had any uncertainty about his decision to play for pay. On the one hand, it was very gratifying to be heavily recruited by one of the nation’s college baseball powerhouses. But on the other hand, there was an even greater sense of satisfaction to get the opportunity to fulfill a life-long dream.

“Playing professional baseball is something I really wanted to do,” he said. “I could’ve gone to school. But the decision to play pro ball was up to me. So, I decided to go for it, get after it, and start early. I love what I’m doing. It’s a big change from high school. It can be a grind, but it’s actually fun to play every day and get better.”

Barnum, a 22-year old first baseman, has all the requisites to become the feared power hitter of the future that the White Sox have projected him to be. At 6-feet-5, 225 pounds, he possesses the strength, quick hands and powerful swing to hit for distance on a consistent basis.

Expectations are always sky-high for first-round draft picks and Barnum is no exception. Although he’s been inconsistent at times, Barnum has been sizzling at the plate in recent weeks. Over his last 25 games (dating back to July 3), he's hitting .255 with 19 RBIs.

Barnum was a coveted college prospect coming out of  
high school in Tampa, Fla.

“I realize that people think highly of me,” he said. “But on the other hand, you don’t want to have that pressure on you where you’re thinking so much about what other people’s expectations are.

“You just have to go out every day and play your game to the best of your ability. I just block it all out (in my mind). It’s all about staying on the path to get to where I want to be. I don’t let it go my head. I just go about my business and stay as humble as possible.”

An early-season injury (oblique muscle) kept Barnum from finding his groove as a hitter. He was sidelined for a little over a month and returned in mid-June. The forced hiatus slowed his progress. Thanks to the hot streak, Barnum has had a nice bump in his overall stats. Entering tonight's home game against the Wilmington Blue Rocks, Barnum has a .242 batting average with 5 home runs and 42 RBIs.

“My timing and rhythm are coming around,” said Barnum, who throws left and bats left. “I lost something in those areas because of all the time I missed being injured. Now I'm getting back into it.”

After being drafted out of high school, Barnum made the most of his limited time with Bristol in the Appalachian League for rookies. In 13 games, he belted 3 home runs and had 8 RBIs, while posting a .279 batting average.

In 56 games with Kannapolis (Low-A) the following season, he hit .254 with 5 homers and 25 runs batted in. When he arrived in Winston-Salem two years ago, it didn’t take long for him to learn that it takes more than raw talent to do well in the (High-A) Carolina League.

Pitchers are more adept at attacking hitters’ weaknesses. As a result, Barnum didn’t get a steady diet of fast balls when he stepped into the batter’s box. Instead, he saw more breaking pitches than ever.

“Once you get to High-A [baseball], pitchers are better at learning hitters,” he said. “They have a better understanding of how to pitch to different hitters than the pitchers in rookie ball. It’s a challenge, but it’s not something that you can’t handle.”

Just as pitchers learn about hitters, the learning process also works the other way around. With more experience, hitters get a better grasp of what pitch to expect based on pitcher tendencies and variables such as the ball-and-strike count. It’s an ongoing process to improve consistency at the plate.

“The learning process is coming along,” Barnum said. “I see a lot pitches that are down and away – mostly off-speed breaking balls. But I’m getting better at recognizing what’s coming. I play close attention to the pitcher’s release point, so I can get a good view of whether or not the ball is coming out high or low.”

It was a year ago when Barnum first learned what it takes to make it through a 140-game baseball season. For young players who aren’t that far removed from high school, completing a marathon season can prove to be a daunting task. Barnum held up well and played in 132 games, while hitting .253 with 8 home runs and 60 runs batted in.

“Last year was my first time playing that many games and it was tough,” said Barnum. “My body was really worn down. This year, I try to eat better and just take care of my body and get as much rest as I can.”