Is it too quick to pump the breaks on Henry Davis or is the time now to start Bart?
Writing this piece on the first night of the NFL Draft, there were discussions all day of future stars making their NFL dream come true. As with any draft that has stars and future Hall-Of-Famers, there are also draft busts. Catcher Joey Bart was looking exactly like that after a forgettable tenure with the San Francisco Giants organization, as he struggled with consistency and was often spending time between the Bay Area and Triple-A. Now though, it seems like Bart’s second chance in Pittsburgh could be a career resurgence.
Bart was traded to the Pirates on April 2 for pitcher Austin Strickland, and has since been playing behind former top prospect Henry Davis. In seven games behind the plate for Bart, he’s hit 3 homers, brought in 8 RBIs, and is batting .304. Admittedly, it is a small sample size, but there have certainly been flashes of the player Bart was supposed to be.
Joey Bart’s hot start with the @Pirates continues!
He’s 7-for-20 with 3 HR with Pittsburgh so far. pic.twitter.com/91WlHy5cOn
— MLB (@MLB) April 25, 2024
The Giants drafted Bart with the second overall pick in 2018, when he received the largest ever signing bonus for a position player. Bart made his debut in MLB debut in 2020, but following injuries, poor performances, and the presence of Buster Posey, things just did not pan out in San Francisco. The player that Bart was supposed to be coming out of Georgia Tech was soon forgotten as he had now become just another fringe roster member.
For Pittsburgh, the plan seemed to have Endy Rodriguez as their starting catcher as he too has been described as a generation talent. Unfortunately for the Buccos, Rodriguez was injured during winter ball and was slated to miss the entire 2024 season. After that, Henry Davis and Jason Delay were in competition for top spot, with the addition of Yasmani Grandal adding further insurance. Davis looked like the top choice through most of Spring Training and earned the spot on Opening Day.
Things changed again when both Grandal and Delay went down with injuries, thus leading to the team acquiring Bart. The only problem now is that Davis has not been living up to any of his hype, meanwhile there’s a guy behind him crushing it in his second chance. Despite his hot Spring, Davis has since cooled down and is only hitting .180 with no home-runs. If Davis is set to be the future at the position, the time is now for him to start proving that.
Back to Bart, it’s hard to say if this the career resurgence he’s been looking for or an insane hot streak. Regardless, it is weird to say that he has somehow been one of our better offensive weapons when he’s in the lineup. At the very least, he is outperforming Davis. I don’t think it’s insane to say that maybe Bart should be in the lineup for the time being, let him play out this hot streak until he falters and then give Davis another chance at being the number one option for catcher.
The Pirates still have Delay and Grandal in the wings as well, and though I don’t think either one of them will be fighting for that top spot, there could be some turnover at the position when they heal up.
The Pirates have shown to have some guys in their lineup that are just not cutting it offensively on a daily basis. Connor Joe has been outperforming Rowdy Tellez, Michael Taylor over Jack Suwinski, and certainly Bart over Davis. I think there could be some shake up in the ranks for several positions, but it’s going to sting the most if Davis is replaced after being the team’s first overall pick just a couple of years ago. With that being said, sometimes it’s just not your time, and for Bart perhaps his time is now.