Top prospect Joey Bart broke his hand, will miss 4-6weeks.
WASHINGTON, D.C. >> Top Giants prospect Joey Bart will miss at least the next month of games after the catcher fractured his left hand during a Single-A game on Monday.
Bart was hit by a pitch and suffered a fracture of his second metacarpal in the San Jose Giants’ 5-1 loss to the Stockton Ports. San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy confirmed the details of the injury Tuesday in Washington after Bart met with a hand specialist earlier in the day.
“He’s going to wear a cast for a couple of weeks and then he will be reevaluated after that,” Bochy said. “We’re probably looking at four-to-six weeks.”
Bart was off to an impressive start with the San Jose Giants in his first full season of minor league games. The Giants’ 2018 first round draft choice had five extra base hits including two home runs in his first 37 at-bats this year and earned rave reviews from manager Billy Hayes for his work behind the plate.
“You hate to see it,” Bochy said. “He’ll miss some time, then he’s got to ramp it back up and that takes a little while. It’s a minor setback but you just hate to see it for the kid.”
Bochy highlighted Bart’s early success before the Giants played the Colorado Rockies on Friday. The manager said “I can’t help but notice,” Bart’s impressive numbers at the plate and suggested the organization’s top prospect could be on the fast track to the majors.
Even though Bart has played just 61 minor league games since being selected No. 2 overall last June, the injury may not prevent him from reaching the big leagues later this year. Bart will need to pick up where he left off upon returning to the diamond, but Bochy remains optimistic about the young catcher’s abilities.
“There’s a lot of baseball left,” Bochy said. “You’re looking at probably around June in that area, he’ll start up in June and he’ll have a lot of baseball left to be played.”
Bart was voted the 2019 Barney Nugent Award winner during spring training, which is given to a player in his first big league camp whose performance and dedication best exemplifies the San Francisco Giants spirit.
The pitch from Stockton right-hander Mitchell Jordan fractured Bart’s second metacarpal, which is the longest metacarpal and located in the index finger. Last season, three Giants players —Madison Bumgarner, Evan Longoria and Hunter Strickland— fractured their fifth metacarpals.
Bumgarner and Strickland each missed two full months of action, but Longoria returned to games after spending six weeks on the injured list. Position players are typically able to return from hand fractures faster than pitchers, but the Giants will be extremely cautious with Bart given that the injury occurred on