The New York Mets have signed former Sugar Land Skeeters outfielder Barrett Barnes to a Minor League deal.
A Sugar Land native, Barnes appeared in his first season with the Skeeters in 2018 and hit .246/.393/.393 with 12 home runs and 51 RBIs in 112 games, while also stealing 24 bases. He led the Atlantic League in 2018 with 80 walks, which were also the third most in a single season in Skeeters history. Barnes made the bulk of his appearances at center field, where he played in 64 games.
Barnes said in a statement:
“First off, I just want to say thank you to my family, friends, and the community of Sugar Land, Texas for welcoming me back with open arms. Thank you to family that came and supported who hadn’t been able to watch me play in years. Thank you to friends who made it to weekend games. Thank you so much to Sugar Land, Texas and the Skeeters organization for allowing me to come home to play ball, get a breath of fresh air and to allow me to get my career back on track. Thank you to the coaching staff led by Pete Incaviglia. Thank you to the fans, volunteers, front office staff, grounds crew and locker room staff. To everyone involved, thank you so much for your hospitality and now I can’t wait to get back on track chasing my childhood dream with the New York Mets!”
The Pittsburgh Pirates selected Barnes, who attended Fort Bend Austin High School in Sugar Land, with the 45th overall pick of the 2012 MLB Draft out of Texas Tech. At the time of his selection, he was the third-highest selected position player in school history.
Barnes, 27, spent six seasons in the Pittsburgh Pirates Minor League system, reaching as high as Triple-A. He has a career slash line of .275/.365/.428 in 355 games at the affiliated level to go with 31 home runs and 154 RBIs. Barnes was selected as an MiLB.com Organizational All-Star in 2016, hitting .306/.377/.477 with nine homers and 47 RBIs with Double-A Altoona.
The Skeeters open the 2019 season on April 25 at Constellation Field against the Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. Season tickets for the 2019 season are currently available and individual tickets will soon be made available. To purchase season tickets, or for more information on ticketing, please visit sugarlandskeeters.com or call the TDECU Ticket Office at 281-240-4487.
Visit SugarLandSkeeters.com and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (@SL_Skeeters) for all the latest news on the team and the latest on events to be hosted at Constellation Field.
