Today, the Chicago Cubs called up infielder Darwin Barney from Triple-A Iowa. He will wear uniform number 15 and be available for this afternoon’s game in San Francisco .
A 2010 Pacific Coast League All-Star, Barney joins the Cubs leading all of Triple-A with 142 hits this season. Overall, he’s hitting .297 (142-for-478) with 24 doubles, four triples, two home runs, 71 runs scored, 49 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 113 games for Iowa in 2010.
Barney is pretty consistent when you look at his splits vs. right-handed pitching (.302) and southpaws (.287). He has played 111 games at that shortstop and two at second base this season.
By Paul M. Banks
Barney was taken by the Cubs in the fourth round of the 2007 Draft out of Oregon State University, where he helped lead the Beavers to back-to-back College World Series championships in 2006 and 2007. So it’s safe to see he’s been lucky enough to see ESPN’s Erin Andrews in action a few times.
He also helped lead Team USA to the Gold Medal in the 2006 World University Games and Southbridge High School in Oregon to its first-ever state title in 2003.
The right-handed hitter has quickly risen through the Cubs’ minor league system, reaching Iowa by the mid-point of last season. Barney was named a 2009 Southern League mid-season All-Star, batting .317 in 74 games to earn the promotion to Triple-A. He is a .285 hitter (441-for-1545) in 422 minor league games covering his four seasons in the Cubs system.
Barney is a big part of the Cubs youth movement as he will become the 15th rookie to appear for the Cubs this season and the ninth to make his major league debut, joining:
pitchers-Andrew Cashner, Casey Coleman,Thomas Diamond, Marcos Mateo, Brian Schlitter, James Russell
infielder- Starlin Castro
catcher- Welington Castillo