Cubs recall IF Darwin Barney from Iowa

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Cubs today selected the contract of infielder Darwin Barney from Triple-A Iowa. Barney will wear uniform number 15 and be available for this afternoon's game in San Francisco.

A 2010 Pacific Coast League All-Star, Barney joins the Cubs leading all of Triple-A with 142 hits this season. Overall, he is batting .297 (142-for-478) with 24 doubles, four triples, two home runs, 71 runs scored, 49 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 113 games for Iowa in 2010. Barney is batting a consistent .302 (99-for-328) vs. right-handed pitching and .287 (43-for-150) vs. lefthanders. He has primarily played shortstop this year, seeing action in 111 games at that spot in addition to two games at second base.

Barney, 24, was selected by the Cubs in the fourth round of the 2007 Draft out of Oregon State University, where he helped lead the Beavers to back-to-back College World Series championships in 2006 and 2007. He also helped lead Team USA to the Gold Medal in the 2006 World University Games and Southbridge High School in Oregon to its first-ever state championship in 2003.

The right-handed batter and thrower has quickly risen through the Cubs minor league system, reaching Iowa by the middle point of the 2009 campaign. Barney was named a 2009 Southern League mid-season All-Star, batting .317 (80-for-252) in 74 games to earn the promotion to Triple-A. He is a .285 hitter (441-for-1545) in 422 minor league games covering his four seasons in the Cubs minor league system.

Barney will become the 15th rookie to appear for the Cubs this season and the ninth to make his major league debut, joining pitchers Andrew Cashner, Casey Coleman, Thomas Diamond, Marcos Mateo, Brian Schlitter and James Russell, infielder Starlin Castro and catcher Welington Castillo.