C Joey Bart (Georgia Tech): 6'3", 225 lbs, born 12/15/1996
Overview
Hit: 50. Power: 60. Run: 30. Throw: 60. Field: 55.
Coming into the season, Joey Bart was considered a solid catching prospect with lots of power, but scouts were worried he struck out to much to reach that power. Last year, he slashed .296/.370/.575 with 13 home runs and an ugly 50/16 strikeout to walk ratio for the Yellow Jackets, which played right into the scouting reports. However, he has taken a huge step forward this year with the bat, with his slash line jumping to .362/.470/.612 with 12 home runs and a much improved 44/34 strikeout to walk ratio (through 5/9). The strikeout rate fell from 24% to 19%, not a huge difference but notable, while his walk rate jumped from 7.7% to 14.7%. Georgia Tech has already produced two famous catchers in Jason Varitek (14th overall in 1994) and Matt Wieters (5th overall in 2007), and Bart looks to go in the same draft range as those two.
Strengths
Bart has a ton of power and can stick behind the plate. That alone puts him in the first round conversation, but with his significantly improved plate discipline this year, he's an elite draft prospect. Through 48 games, Bart has smashed 12 home runs and 11 doubles for a .250 isolated power, down a hair from his .279 last year but much better considering his on base percentage jumped 100 points from .370 to .470. He is taking more pitches and doing damage on the ones he can, launching deep home runs that leave scouts in awe. He has a clean swing without holes, leaving his hands back before exploding, though at times he can be a bit slow to get those hands going. On defense, Bart separates himself from previous big-hitting college catchers like Zack Collins and Matt Thaiss by leaving no doubt he can stick behind the plate, showing a very strong arm and good receiving and blocking skills. When you think of big league catchers who can hit, the list doesn't go much farther than Gary Sanchez, Buster Posey, and J.T. Realmuto, all of whom are extremely valuable.
Weaknesses
Bart's one weakness is his strikeout rate. He struck out 50 times as a sophomore for a very high 24% rate, and while he has brought that down to 19% this year, it's still a bit high and higher level pitching could find ways to get the ball by him consistently. His Cape Cod League track record isn't that bad though, with a .276/.361/.386 slash line and a 37/13 strikeout to walk ratio (25.1% to 8.8%) in 38 games over two seasons, but the high strikeout rate is clearly there. He's also a well below average runner, but he is 6/7 in stolen base attempts in his three years at Georgia Tech and nobody is drafting him for his wheels anyways. Really, the one thing to be weary of is the strikeout rate, even if it is going down.
No comments:
Post a Comment