SF Giants Top 31 Prospect Rankings: 2020 Midyear Update

SF Giants top prospects: No. 8 — C Patrick Bailey

Age: 21
Highest Level: NCAA (NC State)
Acquired: Draft (2020)
Future-Value Grade: 45

The public scouting community consensus seemed to view Patrick Bailey’s offensive profile as a poor man’s comp of Joey Bart with a ceiling for his hit tool around 50 and power at 55 that probably ends up as a 45/55 profile (Bart is more around 55/60 and likely 50/60). However, it seemed that a few Giants insiders believe Bailey has the potential to be above-average across the board.

Bailey’s approach helps alleviate some of the overall concerns. Over his career at NC State he walked 86 times in 578 plate appearances alongside 93 strikeouts. In fact, his career triple-slash line of .302/.411/.568 is quite comparable to his former teammate and recently acquired Giants prospect Will Wilson when he played at NC State.

A switch-hitter, Bailey has been equally effective from both sides of the plate, so there does not appear to be too much platoon risk and his makeup gets consistently rave reviews. Bailey, like Bart, called pitches for the entirety of his collegiate career (and even called pitches in high school).

Still, Bailey’s closest thing to a premium tool is his work behind the plate. A “premium defender” according to one insider, Bailey was the best defensive catcher available in the draft.

One wrinkle that hasn’t been discussed with Bailey is the potential for him to play elsewhere. Since he’s a consensus solid defensive catcher, scouts never really questioned whether he’d have to move positions, but with Bart already in the organization, it remains an open question.

Bailey is considered a good athlete for a catcher, but it’s unclear if that translates elsewhere on the diamond. It’s worth noting that last year the Giants suggested they thought their second-round pick (Logan Wyatt) could handle the outfield when almost everyone considered him a first-base only prospect, implying they may have faith in their ability to teach positional flexibility.

Bailey has been with Bart and the rest of the Giants alternate camp invitees in Sacramento. He and Bart have both taken grounders on the infield at first base. Bailey made some waves when reports emerged that he’d homered off of Trevor Cahill in an intrasquad game. According to a source, Bailey’s homer recorded a 104 mph exit-velocity and traveled an estimated distance of 421 feet. Not a bad way to make a solid impression.