Giants pitchers and catchers reported to spring training on Wednesday, and while Buster Posey will be in the squat once again, catcher Joey Bart will look to open eyes again in Scottsdale.
Bart won the Barney Nugent Award last spring, which is given annually to the player who performs best in his first big league camp. The young catcher hit .350 with one home run and seven RBI over seven games. One year later, the Giants have been adamant Bart will not be competing for an Opening Day roster spot in the bigs, but it's no coincidence his locker is placed right next to Posey's.
The Giants are awed by Bart's power at the plate and ability behind the dish. They aren't alone. Eric Longenhagen of FanGraphs clearly is a big fan, too.
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FanGraphs released its list of the top 120 prospects in baseball on Wednesday, and Bart comes in at No. 10. This is the highest that any major scouting outlet has ranked him. MLB Pipeline has him at No. 14 and Baseball America ranked Bart lower at 32.
Bart hit .278 with 16 homers and an .824 OPS between Single-A San Jose and Double-A Richmond last season. It's his defense that really sticks out to FanGraphs, though.
"He’s Mike Alstott’s size but with the lateral quickness and ground game of a small-framed catcher," Longenhagen writes. "He’s quick out of his crouch and throws accurate lasers to second base."
[RELATED: Giants' farm system ranked No. 14 in by Baseball America]
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Bart threw out 22 base-stealers in 2019 and had a .992 fielding percentage.
Shortstop Marco Luciano (24) and center fielder Heliot Ramos (68) also were named to FanGraphs' list of top prospects.