Keon Barnum

Keon Barnum (born January 16, 1993) is an American professional baseball first baseman for the Chicago Dogs of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.

Career

Chicago White Sox

Barnum was drafted by the Chicago White Sox in the 1st round (48th overall) of the 2012 MLB Draft out of King High School in Tampa, Florida. He started his career in 2012 with the rookie level Bristol White Sox. He finished the 2012 season hitting .279 in 43 at-bats with three HRs, one 2B and eight RBIs. Before the start of the 2013 season, Barnum was ranked as the White Sox #8 prospect. He spent 2013 with the Kannapolis Intimidators where he batted .254 with five home runs and 26 RBIs, 2014 with the Winston-Salem Dash where he posted a .253 batting average with eight home runs and 60 RBIs, and 2015 back with Winston-Salem where he batted .257 with nine home runs and 67 RBIs. In 2016, he played for both Winston-Salem and the Birmingham Barons, posting a combined .213 batting average with five home runs and 34 RBIs in 106 games between both teams. He played for Winston-Salem and Birmingham in 2017, batting .218 with a career high 18 home runs and 45 RBIs. He became a free agent after the 2018 season.

Chicago Dogs

On March 11, 2019, Barnum signed with the Chicago Dogs of the independent American Association.

Following a season in which he broke the league's home-run record with 31, he was named the league MVP on September 3, 2019. He was also named the 2019 Independent Leagues Player of the Year by Baseball America.