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SF Giants Prospects: 2021 Preseason Top 31 Rankings

By Marc Delucchi
Joey Bart #21 of the SF Giants looks on walking back to his position against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the top of the eighth inning at Oracle Park on September 07, 2020. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Joey Bart #21 of the SF Giants looks on walking back to his position against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the top of the eighth inning at Oracle Park on September 07, 2020. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images) /
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SF GIants, Patrick Bailey
SF Giants 2020 first-round pick Patrick Bailey catching at the alternate site in Sacramento last summer with SF Giants outfielder Austin Slater at the plate. (Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports) /

SF Giants top prospects: No. 7 — 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 heading into the 2020 draft. With a ceiling for his hit tool around 50 and power at 55, that probably ends up at 45/55. Since the Giants selected him in the first round, more industry insiders have suggested that he could be above-average across the board.

Bailey’s approach helps alleviate some of the overall concerns. Over his collegiate career, 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 college teammate and fellow Giants prospect Will Wilson.

A switch-hitter, Bailey has been equally effective from both sides of the plate, so he should avoid a future platoon. However, he does tend to hit for more consistent power from the right side of the plate. I’m higher on his hit than power tool and see many similarities between his swing/approach and Milton Bradley.

Bailey’s ability behind the plate gets consistently rave reviews. Like Joey Bart, he called pitches for the entirety of his collegiate career (and even in high school). Most evaluators ranked him the best defensive catcher in the draft.

Bailey held his own at the alternate site last year and is with the big-league club at spring training now. He could begin the year at Class-A, but I’d expect a High-A assignment. While the Giants’ future at catcher remains uncertain, do not expect Bart’s development to impact Bailey for some time. If Bailey plays as expected, he could move quickly and create some interesting roster conundrums for the front office.

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