Giants sign 1st-round pick Bart to reported record bonus for position player

SAN FRANCISCO - The more I see and hear about this kid, the more excited I get for his arrival in San Francisco. I know it may be a year or so down the road but the anticipation is buffered somewhat by the "What to do with Buster.. question. The more he catches, the more productivity you lose from his bat, especially in the power department.

The contract and the #2 slot in the draft make the expectations for Bart higher across the board. He has to be an impact pick for this franchise. 

from thescore.com
https://www.thescore.com/mlb/news/1559099

Bart, a catcher who was chosen second overall by San Francisco at the MLB draft earlier in June, officially signed with the Giants on Sunday for a reported $7.025-million signing bonus - the highest up-front bonus ever handed to a drafted position player, according to Jim Callis of MLB.com.

That figure comes in below the $7,494,600 slot value of the second overall pick.

Bart's bonus bests Kris Bryant's former record for a position player - the Chicago Cubshanded him a $6,708,400 bonus in 2013. The overall record belongs to Cincinnati Redspitching prospect Hunter Greene, who inked a $7.23-million deal as last year's second overall pick. Two other picks in the 2017 draft - Atlanta Braves pitcher Kyle Wright, and the Tampa Bay Rays' two-way phenom Brendan McKay - also signed for over $7 million.

The 21-year-old Bart was taken second overall by the Giants following a stellar three-year run at Georgia Tech, and is widely expected to be Buster Posey's successor behind the plate in San Francisco. He was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year in 2018 after slashing .359/.471/.632 with 16 homers and 38 RBIs, and also won the conference's batting title. Defensively he was just as stellar, allowing only two passed balls while catching 12 would-be base-stealers in 33 attempts.

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