Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
A manager as process-oriented as Gabe Kapler will not light into a player publicly, will not overreact to a slump, will be sure to cushion each comment that can be taken negatively with a compliment.
There are few ways to sugarcoat 30 strikeouts, two walks and zero home runs, though, which is the line that has resulted from Joey Bart’s first 86 plate appearances as a pro.
“Right now I think he’s getting it handed to him. He knows that,” Kapler said after the Giants’ 6-0 loss at the Coliseum on Saturday, in which his catcher went 0-for-3 with two more Ks. “And it’s time for him to adjust, and he’s ready to do so.”
The book has been written on the former No. 2-overall pick, who struggles with low and inside pitches that he either can’t catch up to or sends toward the grass. He had an extra-base hit in each of his first three games as a Giant, but has just one (a triple) in 75 plate appearances since.
There are so many encouraging signs from the 23-year-old, who has a cannon, has ably handled a pitching staff and whose mind must be swimming as his first experiences in the majors are coming during a playoff chase. But the glove has been far better than the bat, which is slashing .241/.302/.304 in his first 25 games.
Bart had only seen 22 games of Double-A action last year and nothing above that before his long-awaited call came. Kapler pointed out that he’s being pitched to with a “very well thought-out plan” that he’s never faced before.
“There are some areas of his game right now that are getting exploited. He needs to adjust back,” said Kapler, who will stick with Bart because he’s the team’s future and his other option (Chadwick Tromp) is batting .179. “And one of the things that we’ve been talking about with Joey is to really focus on the process — the process being getting a pitch to drive and laying off pitches that he can’t drive, spreading him out a little bit and just really focus on seeing the ball. And those being the wins, rather than a hit or a double or a home run being the win.”
They want him to resist those down-and-in pitches and try to wait out pitchers and hopefully get something across the plate. Kapler was sure to underline the talent, which “is there,” and said the club believes in him long term.
A large problem for Bart, who does hit balls hard, is the destination of the ones he gets to. Entering Saturday’s play, he had hit 56.3 percent of his batted balls on the ground. Bart knows this — and his mentality at the plate for a team that wants to either damage pitches or let them go — has to change.
“I’m just trying to hit good pitches and drive the ball really,” Bart said after Friday’s loss. “Just try to see the ball, hit good pitches and have fun, be relaxed, just be myself.”
The Giants flipped their rotation out of caution for Johnny Cueto, who has had hip discomfort. Tyler Anderson will now pitch Sunday in Oakland before Cueto opens the Rockies series at Oracle Park on Monday.
