Brandon Barriera is having a pretty impressive August stretch.

Yesterday, Barriera extended his scoreless streak to four games and over 13 innings with a gritty outing against the Clearwater Threshers.

His first real hiccup in the contest came out of the gate in the first inning, where back-to-back singles to open up the game put the southpaw in a tough spot. A flyout put one out on the board, but a four-pitch walk had the bases juiced with a couple of outs to work with. Barriera countered well, getting a groundball to the left side of the infield for an inning-ending double play.

The bottom of the second started with another single to open up the frame, but Barriera was able to get another ground ball on the infield, putting up a second doubleplay. The third inning was of a similar nature, with Barriera walking the first batter of the inning before a forceout and another inning-ending double play kept any runners from scoring. The fourth and final inning for Barriera saw him walk another batter, but a strikeout and a flyout kept the runner sealed at first base – no double-play required.

Across four outings through the month, including his start yesterday, Barriera has not allowed a single earned run through 13.2 innings of work. He’s held opponents to six hits while walking eight, and they own a meagre .136/.283/.136 slash line with a .419 OPS. On top of limiting the contact, Barriera has struck out 16 batters and thrown to a 57% strike rate while hitting at least 50+ pitches in each outing. The walks are still a bit of an issue for the 22-year-old, who allowed three in yesterday’s appearance, but they haven’t come back to bite him over his last handful of starts.

The left-hander returned from the IL in mid-July, making one rehab appearance in the FCL before rejoining the Single-A affiliate in the Florida State League. That outing didn’t go his way, lasting just 1.1 innings while allowing five earned runs on four hits and two walks.

On the season, Barriera owns a collective 3.93 ERA and a 1.544 WHIP across a career-high 34.1 innings. He’s striking out batters at a 9.7 K/9 clip while walking opponents at a 6.3 BB/9, which is the one area he will need to reel in if he wants to make the jump to High-A Vancouver in the coming season.

Injuries have limited Barriera to just 61.2 innings since being drafted in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft, and right now, things are looking up for the Florida product. If there are no concerns with the left-hander come September, there’s a strong chance he’ll be heading to Arizona for additional fall league play, where he can really be put to the test against some tougher opponents vying for extra playing time.

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