Baseball America’s Top 500 Prospects –
Ht: 6-3 | Wt: 225 | B-T: R-R | Committed/Drafted: Rays '15
(27)
Scouting Report: Bart became the first player ever drafted
out of Buford (Ga.) High when the Rays selected him in the 27th round of the
2015 draft, but Bart chose to instead attend Georgia Tech, following in the
footsteps of major league backstops like Jason Varitek and Matt Wieters. Since
then, Bart has established himself as the top catcher in the 2018 class by a
wide margin and there are more than a few people wondering if he’s the best
catcher to come through the program—high praise considering the talent and
major league success of Varitek and Wieters. Listed at 6-foot-3 and 225 pounds,
Bart has all the tools necessary to become an above-average defensive catcher
at the pro level. He has a strong arm that’s at least above-average and likely
plus, as well as strong and quiet hands, footwork that’s online to his target
during throws and exceptional game-calling abilities for an amateur. Prior to
this spring, scouts questioned Bart’s effort behind the dish, but the recent
feedback has been exceptional. When he’s locked in and focused, he looks the
part. Offensively, Bart has plus raw power to all fields and has a solid track
record in the ACC, hitting 13 home runs during his sophomore season and hitting
11 home runs through his first 37 games this spring. Bart also has a solid wood
bat track record, hitting .309/.389/.433 with two home runs in the Cape Cod
League in 2016, which should help ease the worries of teams who might knock him
for a poor summer in 2017, when he was dealing with a groin injury while playing
for USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team. Bart does have a history of
striking out a bit too much, and most evaluators put the hit tool at
fringe-average at best, but the combination of his defensive tools and his
ability to get to his power in-game at a position that is incredibly scarce
should have him flying off the board early.
Yet even though signing bonuses correlate strongly with
youth, future success is hardly guaranteed when it comes to signing 16-year-old
players, and the reasons are myriad.
Players develop at different ages, both physically and
emotionally. Some develop or refine skills more than expected. Some players
just plain outwork the others.
Belt was upset with a game-ending called third strike by
Eddings in Wednesday's 6-3 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. Belt said afterward
that he thought the pitch was clearly outside and that Eddings called a strike
because he was eager to end the game.
"It's tough, because you hope that an umpire doesn't
affect a game like that. But he did, and I'm not sure if it was on purpose
either," Belt said. "You've heard that guy multiple times insinuate
he's trying to get through the game fast. And then he makes calls like that
that I can't imagine that he really thought was a strike. You've got to wonder.
Mets pitcher finally unblocks
long-blocked fan on Twitter
-- but with stern warning -
The fan, Connor Jagemann, 21,
told the New York Post that he found out that the pitcher, known as “Thor,” had
blocked him when he received a message saying “Noah Syndergaard has blocked
you.”
Depressed and broken, this Royals
minor-leaguer quit.
A year later, his dream is alive –
He’d spent the better part of three years there, toiling in
the heat as he rehabbed from Tommy John surgery and stress fractures in his
throwing elbow. He was often alone, surrounded by coaches and coordinators but
none of his family, friends or teammates. The routine had grown old: Train,
complete a throwing program, see live action, feel like his right elbow would
snap in half and start rehab all over again.
9 comments:
Bart - unless there is high confidence he will hit, I will say (with the last two sickening offensive nights leaving a sour taste in my mouth) that if he is iffy, let's draft a bat that isn't.
If that ump did that to Belt, he should be canned. He was probably afraid Belt would foul off 20 pitches and that would slow him from throwing back a belt or two at a local saloon.
I like the McNeil comeback story better than Brickhouse myself.
Strong Matt Harvey start on Tuesday - he may be regaining his footing
I thought we were actually going to get a response from Tom without mentioning McNeil...
It could be worse. He didn't mention Tim Tebow.
Well, with Brickhouse retiring again we're deprived of the stadium DJ's reviving The Commodores every time he entered a game.
My Motto:
All McNeil, all the time :)
Agree with Tom about our weak ooffense being so frustrating to watch. How many great Jacob degrom starts are we gonna waste? Between our weak lineup and bullpen meltdowns I've counted at least 3 degrom gems that shoulda been wins this year, that have been blown.
What is it with this team that we hardly ever draft good hitters? When we do draft one its like once a decade plus smh. And when is jay Bruce gonna break out finally? Hes hurting us with poor hitting, fielding, can't run and were stuck with a player we can't trade for 2 1/2 more years. He's not a good fit for our team
Mets scored 4 runs in 3 games against the minor league team in Miami
Excellent game last night. Everyone contributed. Team does not seem to be missing Frazier, Lagares, and others very much right now. The guys that are playing are gelling nicely as a unit now. I really liked Steven Matz performance last night. He stayed calm, focused, and under control and it showed. Great outing!
What about Jay Bruce and Asdrubal Cabrera?
To me, it is just focus really. Both have been swinging repeatedly at balls outside the strikezone lately. Cabrera has dropped .058 points off his batting average in a little over three weeks time. He wasn't chasing bad pitches earlier on. If he goes back and watches video then (when he was hitting fabulously) and contrasts to now, he will see it.
With Jay Bruce, he just isn't in his "zen zone" yet at the plate. Having a child can do this maybe, which is quite human a thing. Suggest watching JD Martinez bat and how he stays relaxed and focused with each and every pitch thrown to him, then kind of emulate. I think maybe Jay is rushing his at bats right now.
Could possibly be this samething with Michael Conforto too. It's focus and relaxing at the plate. Let your natural talent lead. All three of these players are very, very good and natural hitters. But every single MLB batter who has ever played this game goes through these minor adjustment periods. Every.
Carl Yastremski on the Boston Red Sox, came back from being off all winter long with a whole new batting stance and approach to hitting each season that he played.
Batters evolve as they go because they learn as they go what works best for them and what does not. All three of these players will be fine. Patience.
Jack Flynn's post recently...
I don't agree with you that the NY Mets MiLB close to here is without everyday starting players for here. Certainly without being here playing and then seeing how these MiLB AAA players do it is never a 100% sure thing. But I follow Vegas and Binghamton daily and the guys I am watching most are 2B Jeff McNeil, 1B Peter Alonso, 1B Dominic Smith, C Kevin Plawecki (1 for 3 last night at Vegas), and OF's Borenstein and Tebow.
How many of the above do I feel could be playing here right now? A: Four. But time will tell.
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