San Francisco Giants: Top Draft Pick Joey Bart is Already an All-Star

San Francisco Giants’ top draft pick Joey Bart has already earned an All-Star nod, being named one of four Salem-Keizer players on the Northwest League All-Star team.

Less than two months removed from the amateur draft, Joey Bart is already an All-Star. The catcher’s big bat has earned him a place on the Northwest League All-Star squad.

Bart, who was the Giants’ first-round draft pick back in June, and the second pick overall, has done nothing but hit since making his short season-A debut with the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes on July 4th. He’s a big part of a Volcanoes’ team that ranks as the highest-scoring offense in the Northwest League, and he’s only been at the level for 20 games.

In those 20 games, Bart has grabbed attention with a .341/.389/.780 slash-line, collecting nine doubles and nine home runs while driving in 24 runs. He started his Salem-Keizer career with a two home run game in his debut, and hit two more runs last Friday as he continued his tremendous start.

Bart’s nine longballs lead the Volcanoes, and rank second in the league to Curtis Terry. A Texas Rangers’ prospect, Terry has three more home runs than Bart but has done so in nearly twice as many games (39). Bart also ranks second on Salem-Keizer in RBI, and third in doubles. He would rank first in the league in slugging and sixth in average if he had enough plate appearances to qualify thus far. He was Player of the Week in the Northwest League for the week of July 8th to July 14th.

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Prospect rankers wasted no time in naming Bart as the top player in the Giants’ farm system. MLB Pipeline, Baseball America, and FanGraphs all placed Bart at the top of their list of Giants’ prospects. On MLB Pipeline, he’s the 36th-best prospect overall in baseball, and number two on their list of catchers. Baseball America placed him 39th on their midseason top-100, while FanGraphs has him at 49th overall and the third-best catcher.

Bart won’t be alone for the All-Star Game, as three of his Salem-Keizer teammates will be joining him.

Corner outfielder Diego Rincones is playing his first year above rookie ball, and the 19-year-old Venezuelan has hit his way onto the team. His .346 average ranks as fourth-best in the league, and he’s hit eight doubles and four home runs, driving in 20 runs. He’s struck out just 15 times in 137 plate appearances. Rincones was named the Northwest League’s Player of the Week on June 24th, and was a postseason All-Star in the AZL last year.

Relief pitcher Jesus Tona is also an All-Star, earning a spot on the team in his first full year as a pitcher. He’s a converted catcher and the right-hander has dominated the league. He’s allowed one earned run in 20 innings pitched (14 appearances), and owns a 0.850 WHIP to go with 29 strikeouts compared to five walks.

Rounding out the Salem-Keizer All-Stars is another right-handed pitcher, Gregory Santos. Acquired in the Eduardo Nunez trade with the Red Sox last season, Santos has responded well to an aggressive assignment in the Northwest League. In eight starts, the 18-year-old owns a 3.16 ERA and has struck 35 batters in 37 innings.

The Northwest League All-Star Game occurs on August 7th in Grand Junction, Colorado.