SF Giants promote 2020 first-round pick Patrick Bailey to Triple-A
The SF Giants have promoted catching prospect Patrick Bailey (Giants #21 prospect) to Triple-A Sacramento, according to a social media post by the Richmond Flying Squirrels. Bailey was the Giants first-round pick in the 2020 MLB Draft and has gotten off to a scorching hot start at Double-A Richmond so far this season.
Bailey hit .300/.400/.482 with two doubles, two home runs, six walks, and 13 strikeouts in 14 games with the Giants Double-A affiliate this season. His hot stretch included a franchise-record single-game performance.
A switch-hitter, he continued to show massive platoon splits, posting a meager .167/.375/.167 line against left-handed pitchers. With that said, Bailey was exceptional on the strong side, hitting .381/.409/.571. Defensively, Bailey threw out 38% of opposing base stealers (30% is generally considered average) and did not commit an error, but did record three passed balls.
Prior to this season, Bailey had struggled since the Giants selected him with the 10th overall pick back in 2020 out of NC State. Bailey was expected to move quickly through the minors, but struggled mightily in 2021 at High-A and was demoted to Single-A before the end of the season.
Bailey improved in his second season at Double-A, posting an above-average .252/.370/.481 line with a 15.7% walk-rate and 19.7% strikeout-rate against righties. This spring, Bailey appeared to take another step forward and seemed back on an improved trajectory. He appeared in nine games in big-league camp and hit .308/.308/.385 in 13 plate appearances with four strikeouts.
While Bailey has excelled early this season, the have some interesting implications for the Giants upper minor league catching depth. He is currently replacing catcher Ricardo Genovés, who was added to the taxi squad earlier this week with Joey Bart sidelined. However, Bart appears to be close to returning to the field. If Genovés soon returns to Triple-A, there will be a logjam with him, Bailey, and prominent minor-league free agent signing Gary Sánchez. Sánchez has performed quite poorly at Triple-A and has an opt-out in his contract on May 1st. Patrick Bailey's promotion may suggest the SF Giants are preparing to part ways with Sánchez soon.
