Still a top prospect, the Giants’ Joey Bart struggles to live up to his promise
Joey Bart had just finished batting practice last Thursday, before the San Francisco Giants’ game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Oracle Park, when he agreed to talk for a few minutes.
It had been a struggle recently for Bart, the second pick in the 2018 draft and heir apparent to seven-time All Star catcher Buster Posey, who retired in November. Bart entered Thursday after going 3-for-30 in his last 10 games, with 16 strikeouts. He wouldn’t be in the lineup that evening either, with veteran Curt Casali, who’s catching about a third of San Francisco’s games, getting the nod.
Not much changed in the next few games, with Bart hitting .158 entering Tuesday’s tilt with the Colorado Rockies. Still, if Bart was feeling anxious about his spot on the team as he stood near the Giants dugout, he wasn’t letting it show, telling The Bee, “You can’t really chase hits. It’s put good at-bats together and good things happen.”
Through the early part of the season, the Georgia Tech product has yet to stake out a starring role for San Francisco, entering Thursday hitting .188 in 16 games and having spent nearly all of last season in Triple-A with the River Cats. But the 25-year-old drew words of encouragement before Thursday’s game from teammates and Giants staffers alike.
Another Giants’ great, former first baseman and current front office special assistant Will Clark, knows what’s it like to come up as a highly-touted prospect. Clark was drafted second overall out of Mississippi State in 1985, in a deep first round that included Barry Bonds, Rafael Palmeiro and Barry Larkin.
“It’s tough, because everybody sort of christens you as the new dude on the block and you still, you gotta go out on the field and produce,” Clark said. “It’s not easy playing this game. Joey’s done a good job on every level. Now he’s on the major-league level. He’s doing a good job behind the plate. He’s scuffled a little offensively, but he’ll come around.”
Striking out on his own
Clark was fortunate enough to famously homer off Nolan Ryan in his first career at-bat in 1986. Bart got hit by a pitch from Angels hurler Jose Suarez his first time up in August 2020 and it hasn’t gotten much better for him at the plate since. Entering Tuesday, he’d hit .211 with an 75 OPS+ through 186 lifetime plate appearances, striking out nearly 40 percent of them.
Mark Reynolds owns the all-time strikeout record, whiffing 223 times in 662 plate appearances in 2009, per Baseball-Reference.com. Bart’s 26 strikeouts in 59 PAs this season entering Thursday would put him on-pace for 292 K’s if he had the same number of trips to the plate as Reynolds.
Bart shined in Sacramento in 2021, hitting .294 for the River Cats. In addition, he remains a highly-regarded prospect, entering 2022 ranked 31st by MLB.com, 53rd by Baseball Prospectus and 71st by Baseball America.
Still, Bart’s recent struggles at the plate are no secret.
“It’s been an up-and-down season in the batter’s box,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler told The Bee during pregame media availability. “He’s got some big hits, but there’s been a lot of swing and miss. That’s been a part of his game and something that we’re willing to hang in there with him on.”
Part of the willingness to remain patient with Bart could stem from success in other facets of his play. One positive appears to be how he’s gelling with Giants pitchers, who entered Thursday’s room carrying a 3.33 ERA and 119 ERA+ as a staff.
“Every guy in the room raves about throwing to Joey,” said Craig Albernaz, the team’s bullpen coach. “They love how he receives, how he moves behind the plate, how he blocks, how he throws, and obviously the game prep.”
Giants starter Alex Wood called Bart a good receiver, able to set a big target and that he enjoys throwing to him.
“He’s a hardworking man,” Wood said. “I think he’s got good leadership qualities. It’ll be fun to watch him continue to grow the rest of the year.”
A future top catcher?
Tyler Beede, a reliever and former first-round draft pick who the Giants designated for assignment Thursday, expressed more bullish sentiment as he stood near packed bags at his locker.
“He’s going to be one of the top catchers in the league for a long time,” Beede said of Bart.
The question becomes if and when Bart can progress as a contact hitter, where Posey, with his lifetime .302 batting average, excelled more or less from the jump. Clark didn’t hesitate, however, when asked if Bart was a natural hitter, praising his strength and ability to hit to both sides of the field.
“There’s a lot of guys in the major leagues that it takes a few years for them to figure it out,” Clark said. “But Joey’s an athlete. He’ll do it.”
There’s also no pressure coming from teammates like infielder Wilmer Flores for Bart to replace retired stalwarts.
“Joey Bart is not trying to be Buster Posey,” Flores said. “He’s just trying to be who he is. Joey Bart, you can’t look at it like he’s a replacement. He’s just gotta be himself.”
Bart didn’t get in Thursday’s game, with longtime Cardinals backstop and potential Hall of Famer Yadier Molina homering early on and helping power St. Louis to a 7-1 win.
Casali, a 33-year-old journeyman who’s never logged more than 256 plate appearances in a season and signed with the Giants as a free agent in January 2021, clearly isn’t a long-term solution at catcher. But he started 55 games at the position last year, with the Giants splitting a similar ratio of games this year between Casali and Bart.
“I think that’s the luxury we have here is all of our pitchers feel comfortable throwing to Joey and throwing to Curt,” Albernaz said. “I think that’s what we want. Because at the end of it, we’re trying to maximize this roster.”
Bart wasn’t complaining Thursday. Asked his goals for the season, Bart replied that it was for the Giants to collect as many wins as possible.
“That’s all I care about is winning,” Bart said. “I’m going to show up everyday ready to win.”
This story was originally published May 11, 2022 at 5:00 AM.