Despite ‘rough couple games,’ Joey Bart shows signs of growth as SF Giants’ everyday catcher

QUEENS, New York — Joey Bart admitted the past stretch of games has been a rough one for him. Yet, amidst a throwing error, a couple wild pitches he couldn’t wrangle, more strikeouts at the plate and a nasty blood blister on his hand, the young backstop has still shown signs of growth.

“Started off hot, but it’s been a rough couple games,” Bart said Thursday morning, sporting a bandage on his left hand covering a blood blister that measured about an inch in diameter.

The blood blister was a result of Mets starter Chris Bassitt challenging him inside with a fastball that ran a little too far in and got a piece of Bart’s hand, as well as the knob of his bat. Despite Bart wearing the evidence of a hit by pitch, it was called a foul ball, even confirmed upon video review.

“It definitely didn’t feel good,” Bart said, though his stoic reaction in the moment didn’t make manager Gabe Kapler’s unsuccessful challenge any easier. Bart, however, didn’t expect to miss any more time than the day off he received in the Giants’ series finale Thursday against the Mets.

Not only did Bart remain in the game — having that blister pounded time and time again by Carlos Rodon fastballs — he made one of key plays that preserved the Giants’ 5-2 win and got redemption in the process. A night earlier, Bart sailed a throw in to center field with Starling Marte stealing second, allowing him to advance to third and eventually score. This time, even with a runner on third base, Bart had the green light to fire to second base and nabbed Marte with a laser beam on the money.

“I would like to see Joey react, just a little bit in the moment, like drop the bat,” Kapler said of the would-be hit-by-pitch. “He’s being challenged at the plate and I think that’s difficult for him.

“But he’s also doing exactly what we’re asking him to do behind the plate. He’s throwing out runners, he’s calling good games, he’s having really effective and timely meetings at the mound with some veteran pitchers. That’s a really important part of being a catcher in the major leagues and I’m really proud of what he’s done so far.”

Since he slugged his second home run of the season as part of a two-hit game in the Giants’ first game of this trip, Bart has gone hitless in past three contests, dropping his batting average to .207. In all but two games, Bart has struck out multiple times, including hat tricks in two of those past three games he’s gone hitless.

On a couple occasions, though, Bart has been wrung up on pitches that, upon further review, were outside the strike zone. That includes his called strike three in the fourth inning of Tuesday’s game. As a young catcher, Bart has had to show restraint not to show up the home plate umpire to potentially detrimental effect when he is behind the plate. That paid off Tuesday, as he said he got an apology from Tripp Gibson, who called strike three on a pitch that was a couple inches off the plate outside and Bart rightfully laid off.

Strikeouts have been an issue for Bart through his entire career, but Kapler sees encouraging signs in the Bart’s pitch selection early this season, even if he has racked up 18 strikeouts in 34 trips to the plate. It can’t be ignored that Bart has also drawn five walks in those 34 plate appearances, which is two more than he had in 117 plate appearances between 2020 and 2021. According to Baseball Info Solutions, Bart is offering at only 30.1% pitches outside the strike zone, compared to 42.9% during his first stint in the big leagues.

“Joey has some swing and miss in his game. He’s had some strikeout challenges in the past. Those are much easier to deal with when they’re couple with good swing decisions and when they’re couple with drawing walks,” Kapler said. “He’s been great with his swing decisions. He’s driving the baseball, so there’s slug, there’s good swing decisions. That’s translated into some walks. There’s still some strikeouts. That’s OK, as long as those other things are happening.”

Behind the plate, Bart has drawn positive reviews for his game management. In addition to his pitch framing, Bart’s arm strength has always been considered an asset, which made him all the more eager to make up for the throw that sailed into center field Tuesday night.

“I wasn’t letting that happen again. Not against Marte,” Bart said. “I was telling (catching coach Craig Albarnez), if he runs, I’m getting him.”

Dominic Leone, who was on the mound as Bart sniped Marte out at second, sees the young catcher’s confidence growing with each passing game as Buster Posey’s replacement.

“He’s been thrown into an impossible role, trying to fill Buster’s shoes,” Leone said. “But Joey’s done a great job. … He’s not really an outspoken guy, but you can tell just in his demeanor. … He’s really been vocal with our guys. He’s trying to learn. He’s trying to pick people’s brains. Just getting better. He’s going to grow and mature throughout the season, and you guys will see that.”