Matthew Barefoot

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Houston Astros #14 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: Barefoot signed for $150,000 as a sixth-round pick in 2019 after destroying mid-major college pitching for three seasons at Campbell and earning the Cape Cod League MVP award in 2018. He purchased a pitching machine, indoor batting cage and Rapsodo machine during the coronavirus pandemic to produce a breakout 2021 season. Barefoot hit .301 with 36 extra-base hits between Low-A and High-A before hitting a wall with a .525 OPS and .299 slugging percentage in 36 games at Double-A Corpus Christi.
  
  Scouting Report: Barefoot is a backwards player who throws lefthanded and hits righthanded. He has simplified his swing since college and is able to make easy, elevated line-drive contact with elite hand-eye coordination. He’s shown prodigious home run power at the lower minor leagues, but it profiles as doubles power against better pitching. Still, his approach is sound and he projects to at least hit for average. Barefoot has plus speed and uses it efficiently to steal bases. He struggles with reads and routes in center field, making him a better corner option. He has an average arm that fits better in left than right.
  
  The Future: Barefoot profiles as a platoon player or fourth outfielder unless he taps into more power. He must conquer higher-level pitching better than he did in his brief Double-A cameo in 2021.
  

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #290 prospect in 2019 draft
  A 6-foot, 205-pound outfielder, Barefoot has been a tricky player for scouts to evaluate, as he's a bat-first prospect with lacking supplemental tools who has always produced. He does it with an extremely unconventional swing. Barefoot starts with a high handset behind his head and has a slight leg kick and toe tap in his load, crouching down slightly into his swing, which can flatten out at times. Despite the awkward mechanics, it's hard to argue with the results, as Barefoot has hit over .300 every year with Campbell after redshirting his freshman season. He has average power in the tank as well. Barefoot may have eased some concerns by going to the Cape Cod League last summer and winning the batting title with a .379/.474/.521 line that included a 22-game hitting streak. Defensively, Barefoot will be limited to a corner as a below-average runner with a fringe-average arm, but his plus hit tool might be enough for a team to disregard his defensive limitations.

• April, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade: 40/High
  
  Track Record: Barefoot signed for $150,000 as a sixth-round pick in 2019 after destroying mid-major college pitching for three seasons at Campbell and earning the Cape Cod League MVP award in 2018. He purchased a pitching machine, indoor batting cage and Rapsodo machine during the coronavirus pandemic to produce a breakout 2021 season. Barefoot hit .301 with 36 extra-base hits between Low-A and High-A before hitting a wall with a .525 OPS and .299 slugging percentage in 36 games at Double-A Corpus Christi.
  
  Scouting Report: Barefoot is a “backwards” player who throws lefthanded and hits righthanded. He has simplified his swing since college and is able to make easy, elevated line-drive contact with elite hand-eye coordination. He&#39s shown prodigious home run power at the lower minor leagues, but it profiles as doubles power against better pitching. Still, his approach is sound and he projects to at least hit for average. Barefoot has plus speed and uses it efficiently to steal bases. He struggles with reads and routes in center field, making him a better corner option. He has an average arm that fits better in left than right.
  
  The Future: Barefoot profiles as a platoon player or fourth outfielder unless he taps into more power. He must conquer higher-level pitching better than he did in his brief Double-A cameo in 2021.
• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Barefoot signed for $150,000 as a sixth-round pick in 2019 after destroying mid-major college pitching for three seasons at Campbell and earning the Cape Cod League MVP award in 2018. He purchased a pitching machine, indoor batting cage and Rapsodo machine during the coronavirus pandemic to produce a breakout 2021 season. Barefoot hit .301 with 36 extra-base hits between Low-A and High-A before hitting a wall with a .525 OPS and .299 slugging percentage in 36 games at Double-A Corpus Christi.
  
  Scouting Report: Barefoot is a backwards player who throws lefthanded and hits righthanded. He has simplified his swing since college and is able to make easy, elevated line-drive contact with elite hand-eye coordination. He’s shown prodigious home run power at the lower minor leagues, but it profiles as doubles power against better pitching. Still, his approach is sound and he projects to at least hit for average. Barefoot has plus speed and uses it efficiently to steal bases. He struggles with reads and routes in center field, making him a better corner option. He has an average arm that fits better in left than right.
  
  The Future: Barefoot profiles as a platoon player or fourth outfielder unless he taps into more power. He must conquer higher-level pitching better than he did in his brief Double-A cameo in 2021.
  
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  Barefoot has hit for average and power at two Class A stops this year. He projects most likely as a platoon/fourth outfielder who could be an everyday left fielder if his power continues to improve. Most likely he's a tweener of sorts because his arm and defense in center are iffy and his gap power will be stretched in left. He does have a solid approach, though, and should hit for average.
• December, 2018 Scouting Report
  A 6-foot, 205-pound outfielder, Barefoot has been a tricky player for scouts to evaluate, as he's a bat-first prospect with lacking supplemental tools who has always produced. He does it with an extremely unconventional swing. Barefoot starts with a high handset behind his head and has a slight leg kick and toe tap in his load, crouching down slightly into his swing, which can flatten out at times. Despite the awkward mechanics, it's hard to argue with the results, as Barefoot has hit over .300 every year with Campbell after redshirting his freshman season. He has average power in the tank as well. Barefoot may have eased some concerns by going to the Cape Cod League last summer and winning the batting title with a .379/.474/.521 line that included a 22-game hitting streak. Defensively, Barefoot will be limited to a corner as a below-average runner with a fringe-average arm, but his plus hit tool might be enough for a team to disregard his defensive limitations.