3 young SF Giants players to be excited about as the season winds down

The SF Giants are comfortably out of the playoff picture at 66-73 while sitting in fourth place in the NL West. That said, there are still a handful of young players to watch as the season winds down.

3 young SF Giants players to be excited about as the season winds down

Saturday's 5-2 victory against the Chicago Cubs was the perfect microcosm of this as Joey Bart, David Villar, Logan Webb, and Camilo Doval led the way. The Giants have struggled to draft and develop young talent over the past decade, but could they finally be turning the corner?

In the case of Webb and Doval, both pitchers have already established themselves as some of the better pitchers in the league but that is not necessarily the case with Bart and Villar yet.

1. Catcher Joey Bart

Joey Bart's at-bats have become something to watch since he was recalled in early July. He struggled to the tune of a .596 OPS in 108 plate appearances before being demoted to Triple-A in early June. However, he has looked like a completely different and more confident hitter since then.

Bart has been on a tear over the last couple of months, slashing .288/.326/.496 (130 wRC) with seven home runs, 16 RBI, and 15 runs in 132 plate appearances. Giants hitting coaches worked with Bart prior to his demotion, but his swing does not look radically different. Rather, it looks like he is being more aggressive on pitchers in the strike zone.

Bart's latest home run against the Cubs was a monster shot with his power on full display:

San Francisco has likely found their catcher of the future. Development is not always linear but it is important to see how a player responds to a rough patch. In the case of Bart, it always looked like that he had the right attitude and his patience is being rewarded.