King alum Barnum healthy and ready for Spring Training

Posted Feb 11, 2013 by Jarrett Guthrie

Updated Feb 11, 2013 at 03:47 PM

King alum and Chicago White Sox prospect Keon Barnum said he was feeling completely healthy while taking in the preseason baseball action as King hosted Tampa Catholic, Friday afternoon.

Barnum, the 48th overall pick in the 2012 Major League Baseball first-year players draft, hit .279 in 13 games last season for Chicago’s rookie affiliate in Bristol, Va. before injuring his right shoulder.
Barnum said the injury did not require surgery and that his rehabilitation has gone well.

“I had to keep grinding and working on it every day,” Barnum said. “I wanted to get back in the game, but I knew I had to be patient and let it completely heal.”

In his senior season at King, Barnum hit .417 with 27 runs, 15 RBI and five homeruns earning him Tampa Tribune All-Hillsborough County first team honors. Barnum helped lead the Lions to a 17-9 record and a region semifinal berth.

Barnum said Friday he was ready for White Sox Spring Training in Phoenix, Ariz., but he was happy to get back to King to watch his former teammates prepare for the season. 

“This is a chance to actually sit back and relax,” Barnum said. “It’s great to be able to come back and see all my friends working on their game.”

The powerful left-hander has been ranked as the No. 9 first base prospect in MLB.com’s 2013 Prospect Watch.

Barnum wasn’t the only ranked player in MLB.com’s prospect list, as former Alonso pitcher and 2011 Tampa Tribune baseball player of the year, Jose Fernandez is ranked as the sites No. 3 right-handed pitcher and the No. 1 prospect in the Miami Marlins organization.

The Marlins drafted Fernandez in 2011 as the 14th overall selection. Fernandez went 14-1 last season with a 1.75 ERA and 158 strikeouts splitting time with the Marlins Low-A Greensboro Grasshoppers (South Atlantic League) and with the Advanced-A Jupiter Hammerheads (Florida State League) and also pitched in the Futures Game during All-Star week.