Matt Barnes Boston Red Sox Pitcher

       
 
Age: 31
Born: June 17, 1990
Birthplace: Bethel, CT
Height: 6-4
Weight: 210
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
   
Drafted: 1st round, 2011 by BOS
How Acquired: Draft
College: Connecticut
High School: Bethen (CT)
   

Photo © Kelly O'Connor
Matt Barnes photos by Kelly O'Connor
Pronunciation: ---
First Pro Contract: August 15, 2011 (BOS)
Signing Scout: Ray Fagnant
Signing Bonus: $1,500,000
Rule 5 Draft Eligible: N/A
MLFA Eligible: N/A
   
Pro Debut: April 8, 2012 (Greenville)
Added to 40-man: September 8, 2014 (BOS)
MLB Debut: September 9, 2014 (BOS)
Service Time (1/21): 5 years, 110 days
Options Remaining: 2 (2015)
Contract (2021): $4,500,000
   
Twitter: @mattbarnesRHP
Instagram: @mbarnes1313

 
 
 
 
 
     
  Scouting Report & Links      
         
  Physical Description: Athletic, strong, durable frame. Long legs, high waist. Not much room for physical growth.

Mechanics: Works from middle of the rubber. Hands set at the belt. Brings hands to chest with first move towards the plate. Three-quarters arm slot. Long arm action in back with a slight wrist turn. Great balance over the rubber on back leg. High leg kick with average extension towards the plate. Gets over front side and pitches downhill. Has struggled to repeat at times in the past, but beginning to demonstrate more consistency mechanically.

Fastball: 88-96 mph. Sits 91-94 mph generally. Can dial it up anytime he wants it into the upper-90s, and will occasionally work in some slower fastballs. Arm-side run when down in the zone. Gets on hitters quick. Heavy, overpowering at times. Will elevate by design. Effective ability to pitch to both sides of the plate. Command and control steadily improving. Changes speeds. Easy plus pitch.

Curvebal: 78-82 mph. Hard snap out of the zone. Solid-average when he stays through it. Will flash plus on occasion. Tough pitch to command in the zone and hitters can often just lay off. Does a good job controlling it and burying it down. Pitch has a chance to be a plus offering with improved consistency and command.

Changeup: 83-86 mph. Arm-side fade. Improving feel and confidence in pitch. Maintains arm speed generally. Can tend to leave up in the zone. Average pitch showing signs of improvement. Needs to improve command down in the zone.

  Career Notes: Both secondaries showed marked improvement at the end of the 2014 season. Began the 2014 season on the disabled list with shoulder soreness. Has also utilized a slider in the past. Played for the Team USA Collegiate team after his sophomore season. Was used as a relief pitcher for the first time during brief major league call-up in 2014. World Series champion in 2018.

Summation: High-leverage reliever potential. Three-pitch mix with two potential plus-pitches and future average command/control. Will need to improve consistency of breaking ball and ability to command for strikes to reach ceiling. Bulldog type with no-fear approach. Controlled aggression.

Links
 The Book: Matt Barnes (10.5.11)
 2012 Prospect Preview
ESPN Boston - Barnes to debut Sunday (4.7.12)
Barnes extends scoreless streak (4.25.12)
Barnes' family shares in promotion (4.30.12)
ESPN Boston - Barnes on the move (5.29.12)
The Book: Matt Barnes (6.6.12)
The Book: Evaluating the arms (8.13.12)
Scouting Scratch: Matt Barnes (5.29.13)
Barnes developing steadliy in Double-A (6.30.13)
Scouting Scratch: Portland notebook (7.31.13)
Barnes impresses manager in Pawtucket debut (8.30.13)
2013 Top 40 Season in Review
ESPNBoston: Barnes solid in first start (4.27.14)
Barnes continues resurgence behind explosive... (8.21.14)
The Write-Up: Matt Barnes (9.4.14)
2014 Top 40 Season in Review
The Write-Up: Matt Barnes, Brian Johnson, Keith... (4.28.15)
2015 Graduates in Review 		 
   
     
    Pitching Stats                                          
  year team lg level org age w l era g gs sv ip h r er hr hbp bb so whip k/9 bb/9
2009 Connecticut NCAA Coll --- 19 5 3 5.43 13 7 1 53.0 54 38 32 2 9 23 55 1.45 9.34 3.91
  2010 Connecticut NCAA Coll --- 20 8 3 3.92 15 13 0 82.2 79 39 36 6 0 25 75 1.26 8.17 2.72
  2011 Connecticut NCAA Coll --- 21 11 4 1.62 16 16 0 116.2 71 28 21 4 15 31 111 0.87 8.56 2.39
2012 Greenville SAL A Bos 22 2 0 0.34 5 5 0 26.2 12 1 1 0 1 4 42 0.60 14.18 1.35
  2012 Salem Car A+ Bos 22 5 5 3.58 20 20 0 93.0 85 42 37 6 8 25 91 1.18 8.81 2.42
  2013 Portland East AA Bos 23 5 10 4.33 24 24 0 108.0 112 62 52 11 4 46 135 1.46 11.25 3.83
  2013 Pawtucket IL AAA Bos 23 1 0 0.00 1 1 0 5.1 3 0 0 0 0 2 7 0.94 11.81 3.38
  2014 Pawtucket IL AAA Bos 24 8 9 3.95 23 22 0 127.2 119 60 56 8 3 46 103 1.29 7.26 3.24
  2014 Boston AL MLB Bos 24 0 0 4.00 5 0 0 9.0 11 4 4 1 0 2 8 1.44 8.00 2.00
  2015 Pawtucket IL AAA Bos 25 1 1 4.06 17 5 0 37.2 36 17 17 3 0 22 41 1.54 9.80 5.26
  2015 Boston AL MLB Bos 25 3 4 5.44 32 2 0 43.0 56 28 26 9 2 15 39 1.65 8.16 3.14
  2016 Boston AL MLB Bos 26 4 3 4.05 62 0 1 66.2 62 32 30 6 3 31 71 1.39 9.58 4.18
  2017 Portland East AA Bos 27 0 0 0.00 1 1 0 1.0 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 2.00 9.00 9.00
  2017 Boston AL MLB Bos 27 7 3 3.88 70 0 1 69.2 57 31 30 7 1 28 83 1.22 10.72 7.36
  2018 Boston AL MLB Bos 28 6 4 3.65 62 0 0 61.2 47 25 25 5 2 31 96 1.27 14.01 6.86
  2019 Boston AL MLB Bos 29 5 4 3.78 70 0 4 64.1 51 29 27 8 2 38 110 1.38 15.39 5.32
  2020 Boston AL MLB Bos 30 1 3 4.30 24 0 9 23.0 18 13 11 4 2 14 31 1.39 12.13 5.48
   
     
    2021 Stats                                          
  year team lg level org age w l era g gs sv ip h r er hr hbp bb so whip k/9 bb/9
2021 Boston AL MLB Bos 31     stats                            
   
     
  Advanced Stats & Splits
   
     
  Awards   SoxProspects.com Awards  
  South Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week (April 5-15, 2012)
Red Sox ML Pitcher of the Month (April 2012)
Carolina League Pitcher of the Week (June 4-10, 2012)
2012 Futures Game All-Star
American League Relief Pitcher of the Month (April 2021)		   2012 SoxProspects.com Pre-Season All-Star
SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Week (April 2-8, 2012)
SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Week (April 9-15, 2012)
SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Week (April 16-22, 2012)
SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Week (April 23-29, 2012)
SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Month (April 2012)
SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Week (April 30 - May 6, 2012)
SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Week (June 11-17, 2012)
2012 SoxProspects.com All-Star - SP
2012 SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Year
2012 SoxProspects.com Rookie of the Year
2013 SoxProspects.com Pre-Season All-Star
2014 SoxProspects.com Pre-Season All-Star
SoxProspects.com Pitcher of the Week (July 28-August 3, 2014)
2016 SoxProspects.com Pre-Season All-Star		  
   

   
     
     
     
 
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