Pirates winning big with Bart: 'He's taken the opportunity, he's run with it'

When the Pirates acquired Joey Bart from the Giants in early April, there were hopes that a change of scenery could help him unlock something as a former top draft pick. Bart, the second selection in the 2018 draft, was once a top prospect in San Francisco's minor-league system and ranked No. 14 amongst the top 100 prospects in all of baseball in 2020 before struggling once he reached the big leagues. 

Bart played in 162 games over four years with the Giants and slashed .219/.288/.335 with 11 home runs and 38 RBIs. His best season came in 2022 when he hit .215 with a .660 OPS to go with his 11 homers and 25 RBIs in 97 games. While the results didn't match up to the pedigree that followed him as a top-five draft pick and highly-touted prospect, Derek Shelton knew what the Pirates were getting when they traded right-handed pitcher Austin Strickland in exchange for Bart, who had recently been designated for assignment, on April 2. There was a need for catcher depth with Yasmani Grandal and Jason Delay injured at the time, and adding Bart seemed like a logical move. 

"I think we knew we had a really good player there," Shelton said. "Let's go back to when he was drafted, this guy was high pedigreed. And he had a really good spring. I mean, he's a guy that I know we talked about that we followed throughout the spring because the Giants were going to have to make a decision." 

Since landing in Pittsburgh, Bart has evolved into a consistent contributor and has seemingly exceeded expectations by becoming the Pirates' regular starter behind the plate. He's worked tirelessly to build a strong rapport with each member of the pitching staff and has frequently delivered in key offensive situations, including the Pirates' most recent 4-2 win over the Diamondbacks in which he collected two hits -- a homer and a single -- and drove in two runs Saturday night at PNC Park. 

Bart has had some quality at-bats as of late and he displayed more of the same on this night. It started in the bottom of the second inning when he worked his way into a 3-2 count before getting the best pitch he'd see all at-bat, belting a middle-in sinker from Jordan Montgomery and sending it out to left for a solo home run: 

He wasn't finished, though. Shortly after Bryan Reynolds gave the Pirates a 3-1 lead with a two-run shot, Connor Joe hit a ball to left and used some aggressive baserunning to hustle his way into second with a double. Bart battled into another full count, fouling off a tough 1-2 pitch and laying off two out of the zone before finding a way to make contact on an outside slider and sending it into left-center field for an RBI single:

"He's taken that opportunity, he's run with it," Shelton said. "Obviously getting us on the board today. But the two-out base hit was huge. I mean Connor with a great baserunning move to get to second. Really good slide, hustle double. And then Joey's base hit not only gets us to three, but it changes the whole complexion of how you use your bullpen over the last two innings. And he's done a really nice job. He just continues to have good swings." 

This particular performance was just the latest example of the recent offensive success Bart has experienced. He's managed to get the barrel to the ball more often and, as a result, is slashing .271/.358/.496 with eight home runs and a career-high 27 RBIs in 129 at-bats through 45 games. He's batting over .300 with five homers in his last 30 games and has compiled a .417/.481/.750 slash line with two homers and seven RBIs over his last seven. That latter stretch features three multi-hit performances, including two in the Pirates' series win over the Astros in Houston. 

"He's a big situational hitter," said Kyle Nicolas, who tossed two scoreless innings in relief Saturday. "He's always a guy you want at the dish when those moments come. He's put together a lot of really good at-bats lately and it's been fun to watch." 

But Bart's contributions don't just start and end with what he's been able to accomplish at the plate. He's excelled behind it as well, showing off his arm in gunning down nine potential baserunners and posting a top-20 average arm strength of 81.1 mph, according to Baseball Savant. His most significant contribution, though, has come in being able to adapt to catching for a whole new group of arms within the Pirates' starting rotation and bullpen. 

"That's got to be a tough transition. He was with San Francisco for such a long time, he knew those guys very well and made it as smooth of a transition as anyone could," Nicolas said. "He's just a professional. Deserves a lot of credit for that. The way he's fit in with this team, it's been really cool to see. He's a stud." 

Bart has seemingly earned a more prominent role in the Pirates' lineup due to the consistency of his at-bats and the way he's been able to impact games with his arm and the relationships he's developed with the pitching staff. But in the eyes of Mitch Keller, Saturday's starter who threw four scoreless innings prior to a 68-minute rain delay, Bart's willingness to buy into the group is what has really allowed him to embrace this opportunity and take full advantage of it. 

“It’s got to be really hard to be brought onto a new team with new pitchers and completely learn a whole staff and people in Triple-A when they come up. It’s a tough job, but I think he’s done a really good job with it for us to all feel comfortable with him," Keller said. "He’s putting in the work trying to learn us, catching bullpens, literally doing anything he can to help. I think he’s done a really good job with that and he’s in a really good spot now.”

Only time will tell what the Pirates decide to do long term at the catcher position. In addition to Bart, they have Henry Davis, a former No. 1 overall pick, working down at Class AAA Indianapolis and Endy Rodriguez is making significant progress in his recovery from offseason elbow surgery. Still, regardless of what the future holds, Bart has established himself as a key cog in the Pirates' current plans. And if the 27-year-old continues to make the most of his increased opportunities, one could imagine him being considered a long-term solution behind the dish.