Giants bringing Bart to big league camp

Joey Bart has already done plenty to impress the Giants in his brief career. This spring he'll give the Major League brass even more to consider.
The Giants have invited the No. 23 overall prospect to Major League Spring Training camp after taking him second overall in last year's Draft, the organization announced Thursday. San Francisco also extended invitations to 17 other non-roster players.

Bart took off in his pro debut last summer. The former Georgia Tech catcher, who signed for $7,025,000, hit .294/.364/.588 with 13 homers, three triples and 15 doubles over 51 games between the Rookie-level Arizona League and Class A Short Season Salem-Keizer. His .613 slugging percentage in the Northwest League led qualified hitters in the circuit while his 13 homers tied for third. Bart also threw out 39 percent of attempted base-stealers at his first two stops in the San Francisco system. 
Bart has plus potential with his power and arm and should also deliver above-average overall defense behind the plate. MLB.com named him the top catching prospect in baseball as a result, beating out Francisco Mejía, Keibert Ruiz and Sean Murphy. While 2008 first-rounder Buster Posey will begin 2019 as the club's starting Major League catcher, Bart could rise quickly through the San Francisco system given his college pedigree and already impressive professional resume. 

The Giants included three other ranked prospects among their non-roster invitees in No. 3 Shaun Anderson, No. 20 Garrett Williams and No. 25 Ryan Howard. The other 14 headed to Scottsdale are right-hander Jamie Callahan, right-hander Enderson Franco, right-hander Kieran Lovegrove, right-hander Carlos Navas, right-hander Keyvius Sampson, right-hander Sam Wolff, left-hander Conner Menez, catcher Hamlet Marte, catcher Cameron Rupp, corner infielder Zach Green, infielder/outfielder Levi Michael, shortstop Donovan Solano, outfielder Anthony García and outfielder Henry Ramos.