
Austin Barnes’ lack of productivity
The Dodgers came into the first half of the season with hopes that Austin Barnes could provide some kind of offensive production until one of Will Smith or Keibert Ruiz were ready for the big leagues. Barnes had a good month of May posting a .273/.385/.432 slash line but that is sandwiched between a subpar April and June.
Will Smith came up and in under thirty at-bats provided several impact offensive moments including a walk-off home run. The Dodgers continue to start Barnes but he continues to dig himself into a deeper hole at the plate. It won’t be much longer til the Dodgers see that they need to give Will Smith a longer look and he should provide more offensive firepower than Barnes. Austin is one of the big disappointments of the first half.