Over the team’s history, 167 players have been drafted from Georgia Tech. Monday night, catcher Joey Bart could be drafted earlier than all of them. The All-American catcher from Buford High is a lock to go in the top 10 of the draft and could even go first overall.
According to mlb.com, Bart was one of three prospects that the Detroit Tigers were considering with the first overall pick as of Monday morning. The leading candidate is Auburn pitcher Casey Mize with Florida pitcher Brady Singer the other possibility.
Bart is also a candidate to be taken No. 2 by the San Francisco Giants.
"Great competitor, hard worker, tremendous talent," coach Danny Hall told the AJC in May. I'm convinced he'll be a major league catcher for a lot of years."
Bart, a junior, hit .359 this season, highest in the ACC, with a slugging percentage (.632) that’s second in the conference. He was named the ACC’s player of the year and defensive player of the year, a first-team All-America and a semifinalist for two national player of the year awards and the Johnny Bench Award (catcher of the year).
The highest ever pick in Tech history was pitcher Kevin Brown in 1986 to the Texas Rangers at No. 4. In 2001, third baseman Mark Teixeira was selected fifth overall, also to Texas. In 2007, catcher Matt Wieters – a four-time All-Star whom Bart has been compared to – was also taken fifth, by the Baltimore Orioles.
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