After the Carlos Pena Experiment flamed out within six months for the Oakland A’s, it did not take long for the franchise to have another top 100 prospect at first base. Daric Barton had become the latest prospect du jour, a first baseman/catcher with a strong batting eye and plenty of power potential based on his high school career.
After Barton hit ten homers in 78 at bats in his senior year of high school, the Cardinals selected him with the 28th overall selection in the 2003 MLB Draft. Just a year and a half later, on December 18, 2004, Barton was sent to the A’s, along with Dan Haren and Kiko Calero, for Mark Mulder, a move that was considered devastating to the team’s future.