30 A's in 30 Days – Daric Barton

Acquired: Traded from St. Louis (with SP Dan Haren, RP Kiko Calero) for SP Mark Mulder (December 18, 2004).
Contract: One year thru 2009. Eligible for arbitration after 2010.
Position: Odd man out, it would seem.

Projected BA/OBP/SLG: (.255/.358/.390)

Over/Under: Barton's projection represents a 30 point leap from his 2008 OBP and more than 40 points on last year's SLG. There's optimism and then there's crazy, wild-eyed Obama-mism, kids. Barton's season line last year was .226/.327/.348 – although if we throw out his respectable April, it drops to .215/.311/.337. Then, again, Barton IS only 23 years old…and he DID post a .943 OPS in his final 31 games. So torn. Wait, what's that? Offseason hip surgery? No room for him on the A's to start the season? I'll still take the OVER. Sometimes, hope is a strategy.

By the Numbers: 6 – The listed height – in feet – for Daric Barton. It's also the number of staples inserted into his head during the '08 All-Star Break after Barton dove into a swimming pool that was decidedly shallower than six feet. And, when a member of the otherwise anonymous Oakland A's makes Deadspin…

Surefire '09 Prediction: This year's A's are relying on an awful lot of aging and/or injury-prone players. Barton will get enough of an opportunity to win over the naysayers with a solid sophomore campaign, before turning them all off again once they realize that Barton's offensive ceiling is Hal Morris/Sean Casey.