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Joey Bart 2021 Outlook: Swing-and-Miss Undermines 2021 Potential
Arguably the best offensive catching prospect in baseball — a title that may soon be taken by the Orioles' Adley Rutschman — Bart had a rough introduction to the Major Leagues in 2020. His 37% strikeout rate through the first 33 games of his career is a concern especially since he struggled to make contact with pitches in the strike zone — almost 10% less often than the MLB average. Bart can handle a fastball but he really struggled with off-speed pitches and breaking balls last year. He'll need additional reps to correct this issue, which means he probably won't be ready to take away significant playing time from incumbent Buster Posey until mid-2021. The good news is that once he's a little more polished as a hitter, Bart's plus power potential should shine through. Even during his MLB struggles last season, he generated a slightly-above-average Exit Velocity and had a 48% Hard Hit rate, which was well above the league average of 35%. Unless Posey enters the year on the disabled list, Bart is a name you'll want to stick in your back pocket for a little later in the season.
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