'Not Locked In': Addison Barger Rakes With a Unique Mental Approach
Addison Barger's growth is obvious.
Since his draft day, the Blue Jays youngster has gained over 40 pounds. He spent the 2020 pandemic season bulking out his six-foot frame, transforming from a contact-first infielder to one of Toronto's top power prospects.
But there’s been a development in Barger’s game that isn't as visible. As much as the added pounds and pop propelled the 23-year-old up top prospect lists and into MLB consideration, the young infielder credits his recent success to a mental shift.
"Baseball is a mental game," Barger said. "We all know how to swing a bat, but it's about our plan and approach, the mental and emotional control."
When Barger started his minor-league journey in 2018 he was a self-proclaimed 'headcase'. He'd lie awake at night thinking about his at-bats, what he could've done differently to avoid his two strikeouts in the day's game. Driving to the field every day, he was nervous. Walking into the batter's box, he was nervous.
Those anxieties manifested on the stat sheet during his first Rookie League season. The sixth-round pick hit .194 in his first 49 minor-league games, striking out 38 times and adding only three homers. Bad days led to sleepless nights which cycled into more bad days.
"When you can't control your emotions it's gonna be really tough," Barger said. "You're gonna fail a lot."
The results righted a bit in his second crack at Rookie League, but it was the 2020 pandemic season when things started trending up. Barger worked with his long-time trainer Jason Riley in Sarasota to rapidly add muscle and watched the batting cage exit velocities tick into the 100 MPH territory.
He was still antsy at the plate in 2021, though, and caught himself honing in only on fastballs at the cost of his overall approach. The results that year (18 HR, .802 OPS) looked more like that of a top prospect, but Barger's command of the mental game didn't come until 2022.
Last season, the infielder concentrated on being "profoundly relaxed" in the box. Most guys approach hitting with focus, but Barger now goes the complete opposite direction. He calls it “not locked in.” No outside thoughts. It's easier said than done, especially with the amount of information a batter has to consider every at-bat, but it worked for Barger. The infielder hit a career-high 26 homers in 2022 and earned his way up to Triple-A with a .933 OPS across three league levels.
"That's when it clicked," Barger said. "You can have a lot more success being relaxed and just playing the kid's game for what it is."
1B/OF prospect Spencer Horwitz first met Barger when he was drafted, and then reunited with him for most of the 2022 season in Double- and Triple-A. Horwitz has seen Barger's growth on both sides, noting how "jacked" the infielder has become, but also a shift in his approach to the game—a headcase no more.
"You've definitely seen him mature," Horwitz said. "Just how much more of a man he's become."
Barger's "screw it, relax" mentality and growing power have brought him to the brink of the big leagues, and now he enters 2023 truly competing for an MLB job. It might be harder to convince himself to "play baseball just for fun" when the stadiums hold 40,000 people and the games mean more, but Barger's ready for that challenge. He knows there will be frustrations this year—every player runs cold—but now he's able to handle them.
More homers, fewer sleepless nights.
Mitch Bannon is a baseball reporter for Sports Illustrated covering the Toronto Blue Jays and their minor league affiliates.Twitter: @MitchBannon