The San Francisco Giants should be patient with Joey Bart
After Buster Posey stunned the baseball world and announced his retirement from the game, the top option to replace him lies on the current 40-man roster in prized prospect Joey Bart.
Bart received a 33-game showing in 2020 to mostly negative results and just six plate appearances this past season over two separate stints. The 25-year-old backstop is currently atop the depth chart projections with veteran Curt Casali available as a backup should Bart seriously struggle in the upcoming season.
Ever since he was drafted with the second overall pick in the 2018 MLB draft, Joey Bart has been tabbed as the Giants’ catcher of the future, although anyone who thought he’d get his shot as soon as 2022 would be lying. In all respects, Bart has lit up minor league pitching each year he’s been developing in the Giants’ system, appearing in 197 games, hitting 39 home runs, and posting a .287 batting average to pair with a .348 OBP and .512 SLG%.
Joey Bart has found out the hard way that MLB and MiLB pitching is not the same during his brief cameos in the majors, but the Giants should do what they can to be patient. Casali is a capable backup catcher and will be a good mentor for Bart while the Giants hope they form one of the better catching duos in the big leagues. With the serious lack of depth in the minor leagues at the catching position mixed with the lack of available options on the free agent and trade markets, they will need to cross their fingers and toes that Bart and Casali can perform well in 2022.