Barnett flashes power and command in MLB debut

WEST SACRAMENTO – There was a palpable excitement in the building on Saturday afternoon for the Major League debut of Mason Barnett, one of the more touted pitching prospects in the Athletics’ system.

At the same time, whenever a young pitcher takes a big league mound for the first time, particularly one like Barnett, who had struggled in his previous couple of Minor League outings, there is always some level of wariness that runs through A’s manager Mark Kotsay’s mind.

“You’re just hopeful that they can get through a game, to manage a game, [so] that we don’t have to use the bullpen early,” Kotsay said. “You always want to have success for them. … We’ll see how he responds. Hopefully, he gets his feet on the ground quicker.”

Barnett, rated the A’s No. 10 prospect by MLB Pipeline, did provide some decent length by pitching into the fifth, but the result was a mixed bag in Saturday night’s 9-3 loss to the Rangers at Sutter Health Park. The 24-year-old right-hander was charged with five runs on eight hits in four innings and was pulled after a leadoff home run surrendered to Wyatt Langford in the top of the fifth at just 66 pitches.

Over 25 games (23 starts) in what was his first year at Triple-A this season, Barnett was 6-2 with a 6.13 ERA for Las Vegas.

Under normal circumstances, the A’s likely would not have called up Barnett at this time based on those numbers. But recent injuries to Jacob Lopez and Jack Perkins created openings in the A’s starting rotation, leading to his first call to the Majors earlier this week.

“He’s still got time in front of him to continue to improve,” Kotsay said. “Today was a big day. It’s always exciting when you have a player making a debut, especially a starting pitcher.”

There were some bright spots for Barnett. His power fastball averaged 94.6 mph and maxed out at 97 mph. The fact that he did not issue a walk and fired strikes on 42 of his 66 pitches was also a plus. Barnett’s walk rate of 4.92 per nine innings at Triple-A this season was a concern coming in.

“He attacked the strike zone,” Kotsay said. “He got beat with pitches in the middle of the plate and up. Early on, it looked like the fastball had some life. He was getting some popups.”

Barnett worked a quick 1-2-3 first on 12 pitches. The second, however, was where he ran into some trouble. A trio of hits by Josh Jung, Kyle Higashioka and Michael Helman led to a three-run frame. All three hits came off Barnett’s sweeper low in the zone, suggesting that the Rangers were likely seeing the ball well coming out of his hand. With just one strikeout, Barnett also lacked an ability to finish off hitters consistently, even when ahead in the count.

“I think they picked up the release point and stayed on the breaking ball pretty well,” Kotsay said. “We tried to mix up the game plan to come inside a little bit, and Langford ended up turning on that ball for his last hitter. Overall, it’s encouraging that he’s pounding the strike zone. We just have to work on maybe getting him some deception or just executing his pitches better.”

Barnett would have preferred a better outcome, both personally and for the team. Still, it was a memorable night for him and several friends and family members seated behind the A’s dugout who were cheering him on throughout.

“I was super excited and super pumped,” Barnett said. “I feel like after the first inning, I settled in a little bit. I wish I could’ve made some better pitches when I needed to. Moving forward, I just need to make the adjustments I need to make and go from there.”

It remains to be seen how the A’s move forward with Barnett. Opening Day starter Luis Severino is set to return at some point during the team’s upcoming road series against the Cardinals, which begins on Monday.

There is also a scheduled off-day on Thursday, which could allow the A’s to skip a turn in their rotation. If that were to happen, Barnett would likely shift into a long relief role.

“It’ll be talked about, for sure,” Kotsay said when asked if Barnett would get another start for the A’s. “We do have an off-day coming up. We’ll discuss that.”