The Joey Bart Show has continued in big league camp this spring. And ESPN's Kiley McDaniel has taken notice.
McDaniel released his list of the top 100 prospects in baseball before the 2020 season, and Bart comes in all the way at No. 7. This is the highest the Giants' top prospect has been ranked by any other the major outlets. FanGraphs has him as high as No. 10, but MLB Pipeline has him at No. 14, Baseball America ranked Bart lower at 32 and The Athletic dropped Bart to No. 44.
By ESPN's rankings, Bart is the second-best catching prospect in baseball behind Adley Rutschman (No. 3), who the Baltimore Orioles took with the top pick in the 2019 MLB Draft. McDaniel calls Bart a "rare plus defender" and says he has "plus raw power and arm strength."
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The Giants are working with Bart this spring to improve his framing behind the plate. They want him to get under the ball when receiving pitches as he sometimes dropped catchable balls last season. His arm strength, however, is apparent.
Between Class A Advanced San Jose and Double-A Richmond, Bart caught 22 base-stealers. He already has nailed one this spring, too. Bart also called pitches in college at Georgia Tech, giving him an advanced feel for the game at an early age.
His plus power is real and was on display right away this spring. His first Cactus League at-bat this year was an opposite-field homer against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Bart is batting .545 (6-for-11) through six games.
[RELATED: Krukow believes Giants shouldn't call-up Bart to be backup]
Bart is expected to begin the 2020 season in Triple-A Sacramento, but should make it to San Francisco for his big league debut at some point this year.
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Giants prospects Marco Luciano (No. 18) and Heliot Ramos (No. 74) also made the list. It's clear, though, Bart is the cream of the crop when it comes to Giants prospects in McDaniel's eyes.
