Giants invite Bart to Major League camp

The dawn of a new year means Spring Training won't be far behind. For Joey Bart, it will provide yet another opportunity to showcase his talent against big league competition.
The top Giants prospect will take part in his second consecutive Cactus League campaign after being invited to Major League Spring Training next month, the club announced Monday. San Francisco extended invitations to 17 other non-roster players to its camp in Scottsdale, Arizona. 

Selected second overall in the 2018 Draft, Bart slugged his way to Double-A Richmond last season. MLB.com's No. 19 overall prospect began the year with Class A Advanced San Jose in the California League. There he belted 12 homers and drove in 37 runs across 57 games despite missing seven weeks with a fractured left hand.

The 23-year-old returned on June 4 with a homer and three RBIs against Modesto, igniting his path toward a spot in the Futures Game and eventual promotion to the Eastern League on Aug. 9. Considered the second-ranked catching prospect in the Minor Leagues, Bart finished the regular season with a flourish, hitting .472 over his last 10 games for the Flying Squirrels. Overall, the Georgia native batted .278/.328/.495 with 16 home runs, 33 extra-base hits and 48 RBIs in 78 games.
For his efforts, Bart was selected a MiLB.com Organization All-Star for the second straight season.

Bart continued to rake in the Arizona Fall League, amassing four roundtrippers and 10 RBIs in 10 games for Scottsdale and was named to the circuit's Rising Stars Game. However, the backstop was unable to take part after a pitch fractured his right thumb on Oct. 8.
Sixth-ranked Sean Hjelle, who posted a 3.32 ERA and fanned 139 in 143 2/3 innings across three levels in 2019, will join Bart in Arizona. The other 16 players will be right-handers Matt Carasiti, Tyler Cyr, Rico Garcia, Trey McNutt, Carlos Navas, Andrew Triggs, Raffi Vizcaino and Sam Wolff, left-hander Sam Moll, catchers Tyler Heineman and Chadwick Tromp, infielders Cristhian Adames, Zach Green and Drew Robinson and outfielders Joey Rickard and Jamie Westbrook.