Joey Bart Reacts After First Home Run With Atlanta Braves

Joey Bart has been trying to live up to his draft status for most of his career.

The 29-year-old catcher was the second overall pick in the 2018 Draft after winning the Johnny Bench Award at Georgia Tech, and the San Francisco Giants saw him as someone who could anchor the position for years, but that never came together.

Bart bounced between the majors and Triple-A in the Bay, hitting .215 in his only full season in 2022 before getting traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates ahead of 2024.

He found footing in Pittsburgh's second half that year, posting a 16-game hitting streak and finishing with 13 home runs.

His 2025 numbers dipped to .249 with four home runs in 93 games, and a foot infection cut short the start of 2026.

He was hitting .259 with two home runs when the Pirates traded him to Atlanta on June 18 for reliever Hunter Stratton, sending Bart back to a team he grew up watching from Buford, Georgia.

He debuted June 20 catching Chris Sale in a 4-3 win capped by an Albies walk-off, but went hitless and had to wait until Wednesday's game in San Diego for things to click.

He singled in the second inning and then launched a two-run homer in the sixth to account for both of Atlanta's runs in a 5-2 loss that completed a three-game sweep by the Padres.

"It was good," Bart said. "I just wish I could have come through a couple more times."

The homer was his third of the season and first as a Brave, but he also left two runners in scoring position and grounded out in the ninth trailing by three.

Even after giving Atlanta its only two runs, he was already thinking about what he left on the table.

The Braves sit at 48-31 and still lead the NL East, but they have dropped 10 of their last 13 and the catching picture behind Drake Baldwin has been shaky.

Sean Murphy fractured his left middle finger on May 11 on a catcher's interference play against the Dodgers, just eight days after returning from offseason hip surgery.

Walt Weiss said in early June that Murphy still had weeks before baseball activities could begin, and with a rehab stint needed after that, a return likely will not come until late July or early August.

That timeline gives Bart a real chance to stick.

Baldwin is the primary catcher and the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, but the Braves need someone behind him who can handle at-bats while the rotation continues to shift.

Bart is hitting .246 with a .665 OPS, and those numbers will not jump off the page, but he went 2-for-4 with the homer against San Diego and his bat showed life.

If he can give Atlanta something close to league-average production while Murphy heals, the midseason pickup will have paid for itself.