Former SF Giants top prospect quietly having a breakout season with new team

The SF Giants parted ways with former top prospect Joey Bart earlier this year. The catcher once seen as the natural successor to Buster Posey behind the plate never found his stride in San Francisco, but he is quietly having a breakout season with the Pittsburgh Pirates.

So far this season with the Pirates, Bart is slashing .273/.349/.509 with 11 home runs and 33 RBI in 54 games and 165 at-bats. These are practically all career-best numbers as it is clear that he has found a comfort zone in Pittsburgh that he was never able to find in San Francisco.

He has gotten hotter at the plate as the season has worn on and he has developed a propensity for clutch hits as of late. Our friends over at Rum Bunter, the FanSided site that covers the Pirates, argue that Bart is making a strong case to be the team's regular starting catcher going forward.

Joey Bart finding success with Pirates that he never found with SF Giants

Now, whenever a former Giant has success on a different team there will be those who will question why they were let go. Bart was designated for assignment earlier this year because the Giants had seen enough from Patrick Bailey to convince them that he was their catcher of the future.

It is important to note that Bart was simply never able to capitalize on the opportunities he had to be the starting catcher of the Giants. 2022 was his best chance to establish himself after Posey retired, but he just was not consistent enough to warrant being an everyday catcher.

Of course, it is important to note that Bart was the victim of a lot of bad luck. Injuries hampered him throughout his minor league career as they seemingly always came at the worst time imaginable. That stunted his development and made it much harder for him to try to establish himself in the big leagues later on. Sometimes things just do not work out, and that is okay.

While it is easy to be jealous or remorseful that he is now having success in Pittsburgh, that is not constructive. The fact that the Giants have a really quality catcher in Bailey makes it sting a little less, but it is good to see Bart having success in the big leagues after so many years of struggle, injury, and disappointment with the Giants.