Zach Buchanan

zbuchanan@enquirer.com

Tucker Barnhart has popped only one ball up this season. He remembers it exactly.

It came during the Cincinnati Reds’ no-hit loss to the Chicago Cubs and Jake Arrieta on April 21. The Cubs’ ace delivered a slider that didn’t slide, and Barnhart’s eyes got big. Chicago shortstop Addison Russell waited under the ball in shallow left for an easy out.

That’s the only one. He had eight in a similar amount of plate appearances last year. While there are several gauges of Barnhart’s improvement at the plate in 2016, that one is one of the most striking.

“It’s trying to do a little too much, maybe trying to hit a ball too hard,” Barnhart said, diagnosing pop-ups. “The mechanics of your swing kind of get out of whack and you swing under the ball or you chase pitches that you’re susceptible to popping up. I just feel like I’m refining my swing more.”

Midway through the season, Barnhart seems to have answered some of the questions about his offense. The 25-year-old entered the season with a career .240 average and .620 OPS in 334 big-league plate appearances, but has improved upon those marks. In 233 plate appearances this season, he’s hit .269 with a .719 OPS.

That type of hitting isn’t going to land him in the All-Star Game, but it is a nice bonus from a catcher. Barnhart’s weighted OPS – a metric that accounts for the difference in ballparks – is 13th best among catchers with at least 200 plate appearances.

That also comes with a strong defensive skillset for which Barnhart was heralded in the minors.

“Offense is a real nice bonus,” manager Bryan Price said. “I’d be happy for him to remain a defense-first catcher, even though he’s swinging the bat as well has he has, particularly lately. That really is his value, how he runs a pitching staff, controls the running game and blocks. The things that are imperative if you’re going to have pitching success.”

The combined package is certainly good enough for Barnhart to be an everyday catcher. The key, he said, has been sticking to the things he does well. He’s focused on hitting the ball on a line to the gaps instead of trying to get greedy with a big, powerful swing. His line drive rate is up a bit over last season, and his hard-contact rate has risen as well.

He feels more consistent at the plate, which is a product of regular at-bats. If he’s proving he can handle the job as a starter, it’s ironically because he was given the opportunity to start in the wake of Devin Mesoraco missing the rest of the season due to shoulder surgery in early May.

“In the past, if I had an 0-for-4 or an 0-for-6 and that was like a week,” Barnhart said. “Now, an 0-for-4 or an 0-for-6 could be a game. It could be just one game and then you know you’ll be out there the next day playing. It just adds another level of confidence.”

What Price hopes to find out over the second half of the season is if Barnhart’s body can handle the load. Barnhart has started 59 games at the position this year, taking over as the team’s top catcher when Devin Mesoraco had shoulder surgery in April. Barnhart started 67 games a year ago, a tally he could pass by the end of July.

The most innings he’s logged at the position are the 856 he played between High-A and Double-A in 2012. He is on pace for 950 this season, and could finish with more than that considering he was the backup for most of April.

Barnhart said he hasn’t noticed the workload, though.

“I go into every offseason planning to play every day,” Barnhart said. “I come to spring training that way, and obviously the last few years that hasn’t been the case. But I felt like I’d be doing myself a disservice to prepare for being a backup.”

Now he’s getting the shot to put that preparation to good use. He wishes that opportunity didn’t come because of a teammate’s injury, but baseball often works that way.

Given Mesoraco’s injury history, it’s fair to wonder whether Barnhart is the better option at catcher going forward, with Mesoraco possibly moving to a less demanding position.

“Knowing that you’re most likely going to be out there the next day, it’s refreshing,” Barnhart said. “The opportunity is what I’ve wanted to do. Obviously the circumstances are not ideal, but something I’m very happy and blessed to be a part of.”