Promising catching prospect Patrick Bailey is one level away from the big leagues after an aggressive promotion.
Bailey, 23, won a Minor League Gold Glove Award last year. He needed just 14 games with Double-A Richmond to prove he’s ready for the next level. With Richmond, the switch-hitting Bailey hit .333 with two home runs, two doubles, 10 RBI and a .881 OPS.
“Patty was really doing good work in Double-A swinging the bat and playing great D,” Giants manager Gabe Kapler said after SF’s 7-3 win over the Cardinals. “We think he’s very close to big-league ready as a defensive catcher right now. His at-bat quality has improved. Our pitching staff knows him and trusts him. And any time you get to Sacramento, you get to Triple-A, you’re just a step away from the Major Leagues. You’re right: it is a bit of an aggressive promotion. But with that, we feel he’s capable of handling the challenge.”
Under president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi, the Giants have typically avoided promoting players as quickly as this. Their philosophy is to let prospects truly dominate their level before advancing. But Bailey’s strong start, coupled with his defensive reputation and a potentially thinning depth chart at Triple-A, likely led to his assignment.
The Giants made the decision to promote Bailey Wednesday morning, per a team source. At that point, and currently, Kapler has said that Joey Bart — who’s dealing with groin tightness — is trending toward returning. The weekend series in Mexico City appears in reach.
Bart, who injured his groin running to second base in Monday’s game, isn’t expected to hit the injured list. An MRI revealed no serious damage and he’s optimistic he can get back on the field soon. But the Giants have been carrying Triple-A starter Ricardo Genovés on their taxi squad.
That has left Sacramento with Gary Sánchez as catcher. Sánchez, who has an opt-out in his contract on May 1, has struggled in Triple-A. Sánchez is batting .157 in the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, so a promotion before that opt-out is far-fetched.
With Sánchez potentially leaving the organization within a week, the Giants are poised to carry Genovés and Bailey at Triple-A.
Bailey, an NC State product, is a switch-hitter but has had much more success as a lefty. Blake Sabol, notably, is also a left-handed hitter; although he has struck out over 40% of the time, the organization believes in his potential and his Rule 5 status incentives them to keep him rostered.
MLB.com ranks Bailey as the Giants’ 11th best prospect. If he is to debut this year, the Giants could have two former first round picks in Bart (2nd overall in 2018) and Bailey (13th in 2020) behind the plate.
Elsewhere in the Giants’ farm system, left-handed pitcher Carson Whisenhunt got promoted from Low-A San Jose to High-A Eugene and catcher Robert Emery got promoted from Eugene to Richmond, replacing Bailey.