'Outstanding debut': Joey Bart makes powerful impression on Pirates with homer, pitch calling

Joey Bart wanted to play free in his Pittsburgh Pirates debut, not worrying about the burden of being a high draft pick or the pressure that comes with being considered a successor to a superstar.

From his first swing, Bart made a powerful impact on his new team. The 6-foot-2, 238-pound catcher drew cheers at PNC Park by smashing a 410-foot, two-run homer to left Saturday against the Baltimore Orioles.

“What better way to welcome yourself to Pittsburgh than that right there,” Pirates left-handed pitcher Bailey Falter said. “So I think fans are gonna be very happy with him.”

That’s not the only way Bart’s first start behind the plate for the Pirates since being acquired last Tuesday in a trade from the San Francisco Giants was a smashing success. He also doubled in going 2 for 5 with two RBIs, caught five no-hit innings by Falter and made a solid defensive play to prevent a run in the ninth inning of the 5-4 win in 11 innings.

“It was fun,” said Bart, whose father, Tommy, is a Burrell High School alum and also has family in Butler. “I just kinda blacked out and just let things take care of themselves.”

Bart, I don't want to alarm you... pic.twitter.com/hTtw2O98It

— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 6, 2024

Joey Bart goes deep in his first HR as a Bucco!

Our @mearshannah_ caught up with Bart after the next half inning to discuss his round-tipper that extended the @Pirates lead to 3-0.
The Bucs & Orioles are in the 4th inning NOW on @SNPittsburgh #LetsGoBucs pic.twitter.com/xpUL55S1MY

— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) April 6, 2024

The 2018 No. 2 overall pick, Bart failed to live up to lofty expectations in San Francisco, where he was expected to be the heir apparent to Buster Posey. Bart was rushed to the majors in 2020, fell out of favor with a new front office and was surpassed on the depth chart at his position by Patrick Bailey and Tom Murphy.

The Pirates pounced when Bart was designated for assignment, trading minor-league right-handed pitcher Austin Strickland to acquire Bart with both Yasmani Grandal and Jason Delay on the injured list. That required a crash course in learning Pirates pitchers for Bart, who caught a touch-and-feel bullpen session with Falter on his first day then dived into scouting reports to figure out how to utilize his pitch mix.

“Keep it simple. What’s he best at? Let’s use that,” Bart said. “Sometimes you can get in a rabbit hole, think and try to do things, and at the end of the day, it’s just a feel thing with the game. You go in there, you feel what you feel, and if he trusts me and follows me, it’s either going to be good or bad.”

Bart’s extensive analytics background and game preparation paid off, as he called a game that saw Falter throw fastballs on 58 of his 78 pitches in tossing a one-hitter with one walk over six innings. Falter said they were on the same page the entire game despite the unfamiliarity.

“It wasn’t even a legit bullpen. I threw 20, 25 pitches to him, but it was nice and easy and we were working on some stuff,” Falter said. “He was ready to go. He did his research on me. He did his homework and was locked in. He knew my strengths against every single hitter. We went out there and rode with it and did really well.

“He was calling the fastballs, 100%. He told me, ‘We’re going to go after these guys. We’re going to attack them with your best stuff, which is personally both of my fastballs. And we’re going to throw it until they show us they can hit it.’”

Bart’s bat played early, as well. He flashed signs of the power he showed as an All-American at Georgia Tech — where he won the Johnny Bench Award — and in the majors with the Giants in 2022, when he hit 11 home runs in 97 games. Where his homer was recorded at an exit velocity of 109 mph, the 368-foot double was hit at 110.7 mph and bounced just before the left-field wall.

After the Orioles scored the game-tying run in the ninth, Bart blocked the plate and tagged Ryan O’Hearn out on a throw from shortstop Oneil Cruz on a contact play to prevent the go-ahead run.

“It’s awesome,” Falter said. “I was very impressed with him. He did a great job.”

But there were also signs of Bart’s previous problems at the plate. His career 35.4% strikeout rate showed up in his final two at-bats, when Bart went down looking at a called third strike with two runners on in the eighth inning and swinging with the bases loaded in the 10th.

Bart had caught six Pirates pitchers over 11 innings before the Pirates substituted Henry Davis for him as the automatic runner, and Davis ultimately scored the winning run on Cruz’s single.

By then, Bart had made a powerful impression on Pirates manager Derek Shelton, who called it an “outstanding debut.”

“Hit the homer. Just missed another homer. Had a big block there in the (ninth). That doesn’t go unnoticed,” Shelton said. “Overall, I thought he did a good job. Catching up really fast … and I think he did an outstanding job.”