#TGW: Joey Cool
THE FLATS – Georgia Tech baseball’s Joey Bart was the second player selected in the 2018 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft on Monday night when the San Francisco Giants tabbed the junior catcher with the No. 2 overall pick.
With the #️⃣2️⃣ pick in the 2018 @MLBDraft, the @SFGiants have selected Georgia Tech’s Joey Bart ?⚾️?
Joey is the highest #MLBDraft pick in #GaTech history and tied for the highest @GTAthletics pick in a major professional sports draft! #TogetherWeSwarm #ProJackets pic.twitter.com/VekQ9hUOAI
— GeorgiaTech Baseball (@GTBaseball) June 4, 2018
With the No. 2 overall pick in the #MLBDraft, the @SFGiants select catcher Joey Bart from Georgia Tech. pic.twitter.com/oY510s4Uj1
— MLB (@MLB) June 4, 2018
Bart is the highest MLB Draft pick in Georgia Tech history, topping six-time all-star pitcher Kevin Brown, who was selected No. 4 overall by the Texas Rangers in 1986. He’s the 10th Yellow Jacket ever taken in the first round of the MLB Draft and the first since pitcher Deck McGuire was picked 11th overall by the Toronto Blue Jays in 2010.
Bart joins Kenny Anderson (No. 2 in 1994 NBA Draft — New Jersey Nets) and Calvin Johnson (No. 2 in 2007 NFL Draft — Detroit Lions) as the highest draft picks in Georgia Tech history across all major professional sports (MLB, National Football League, National Basketball Association, Women’s National Basketball Association and National Pro Fastpitch Softball). He is the 41st Yellow Jacket ever selected in the first round of the MLB, NFL, NBA, WNBA and NPF drafts.
With the second selection in the 2018 MLB Draft the San Francisco Giants select …. well you know the rest!! Congrats Joey Bart! #TogetherWeSwarm
Posted by Georgia Tech Baseball on Monday, June 4, 2018
Bart was named first-team all-America by both Baseball America and Collegiate Baseball following his superb junior season in 2018 and is a semifinalist for the Golden Spikes Award (top amateur player in the nation), Dick Howser Trophy (college baseball player of the year) and Johnny Bench Award (college baseball top catcher).
The 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Player of the Year, ACC Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-ACC selection led the conference in hitting with a .359 average in `18. He led Georgia Tech and ranked second in the league in slugging percentage (.632) and hits (79), while also posting a team-high 16 home runs, 55 runs scored and .471 on-base percentage, which all ranked in the top 10 in the ACC.
The Buford, Ga. native had a team-high 16-game hitting streak and totaled 24 multi-hit games as a junior, included a pair of multi-home run games at Mercer on April 10 and at Virginia on May 14.
Over his three years on The Flats, Bart has played in 144 games with 143 starts. He is hitting .321 for his career with a total of 181 base hits, 30 home runs and 35 doubles. He has also driven in 112 runs and scored 115, while posting a .544 slugging percentage and .407 on-base percentage.
Bart’s selection marks the 38th-straight year in which a Georgia Tech student-athlete has been picked in the MLB Draft, a streak that started in 1981 with the selection of first baseman Tommy Thompson by the Kansas City Royals.
Bart has until July 6 to decide if he will begin his pro career with the Giants or return to Georgia Tech for his senior season. Should he return to Tech, he would re-enter the MLB Draft in 2019.
For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter (@GTAthletics), Facebook, Instagram or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.
