{"id":121399,"date":"2026-05-07T00:09:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T04:09:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/?p=121399"},"modified":"2026-05-07T00:09:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T04:09:16","slug":"joey-bart-becoming-problem-pirates-pitchers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/05\/07\/joey-bart-becoming-problem-pirates-pitchers\/","title":{"rendered":"Veteran Catcher Becoming a Problem for Pirates Pitching Staff"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Pittsburgh Pirates have started <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bartjo01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joey Bart<\/a> behind the plate for a total of 14 games this year. They are a below .500 team when Bart starts behind the dish. However, the Pirates are a much better team when <a  href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/d\/davishe01.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Henry Davis<\/a> gets penciled into the starting lineup. It\u2019s not a pure coincidence that the Pirates\u2019 pitching staff also does significantly better when Davis is behind the plate. He\u2019s shown to be a significantly better defender and game caller than Bart. However, Bart is becoming an active problem for the Pirates\u2019 pitchers as a whole. It\u2019s not just three or four Pirates who are pitching better with Davis than Bart; it\u2019s the entire team, and the trend extends to former Pirates.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"alignleft\" style=\"max-width: 1200px\"><smartframe-embed class=\"smartframe_wp_element\" customer-id=\"b0c95bc04383cef69c6b47df872135cf\" image-id=\"WmOBaLghwWiK\" style=\"width: 100%; display: inline-flex; max-width: 3072px; aspect-ratio: 3072\/2048;\" ><\/smartframe-embed><\/p>\n<h2>Pirates Pitchers Performing Worse with Joey Bart Behind the Plate<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The biggest victim of Bart\u2019s game calling and defense is <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/c\/chandbu01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-05-07_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bubba Chandler<\/a>. Chandler has performed exceptionally well when Davis gets to catch the hard-throwing youngster. Chandler holds opposing batters to just a .489 OPS, strikes them out at a respectable 23.7% rate, but most importantly, has only dished out a free pass 4.1% of the time. However, he becomes a much different pitcher when throwing to Bart (and not in a good way). His walk rate shoots up to 18.8%, while his K% dips to 21.1%. Batters nearly have a .900 OPS when Chandler throws to Bart at .893.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Joey Bart on the self-inflicting wounds piling up and the Diamondbacks riding the momentum to a 9-0 win over the Pirates here tonight. \u2014 From Jos\u00e9 Negron in Phoenix <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/61AAVdpRMd\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/61AAVdpRMd<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 DK Pittsburgh Sports (@DKPghSports) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/DKPghSports\/status\/2051896095983415498?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 6, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h2>It&#8217;s Far From Just a Chandler Problem&#8230;<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now granted, numbers like ERA, OPS, and K% and BB% by catcher on an individual level are flukey in many cases because of small sample sizes and other extenuating factors. It\u2019s not the most accurate way of evaluating a catcher\u2019s ability or a pitcher&#8217;s ability. However, it\u2019s not just one Pirates pitcher suffering a massive disconnect in performance between Bart and Davis. If it were, this article wouldn&#8217;t get written. Many pitchers, both current and former, have very similar and significant splits.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Joey Bart shouldn&#8217;t be catching any more. Killing the confidence of our young pitching staff by putting him behind the plate is what&#8217;s going to derail this promising season. <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LetsGoBucs?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#LetsGoBucs<\/a><a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/DFABart?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#DFABart<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/dv5wYSAquc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/dv5wYSAquc<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 James Larson (@JamesLarson47) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JamesLarson47\/status\/2052031428351705419?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 6, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/a\/ashcrbr01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-05-07_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Braxton Ashcraft<\/a> pitches to <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/d\/davishe01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-05-07_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Henry Davis<\/a>, he has a 28.1% K%, 8.6% BB%, and holds opponents to a .598 OPS. Meanwhile, when Bart is behind the plate, his K% drops to 21.7%, and opponent OPS rises to .697, nearly 100 points greater than with Davis. The only positive is that his walk rate remains relatively the same at 8.4%. <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mlodzca01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-05-07_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Carmen Mlodzinski<\/a> has also consistently performed better with Davis (28% K%, 7.3% BB%, .657 opponent OPS) than with Bart (19.6% K%, 7.4% BB%, .722 opponent OPS). <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Pirates\u2019 current closer, <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/santade01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-05-07_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Dennis Santana<\/a>, also has significant splits by catcher. When Davis catches Santana, he strikes out 21.2% of batters, only walks them at an 8.1% rate, and has a .518 opponent OPS. While having Bart behind the plate leads to a better 25.5% K% and 4.7% BB%, he becomes much more hittable with a .590 OPS. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Former Pirates Also Had Issues with Bart<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It&#8217;s not just current Pirates who have had problems with Bart. Former <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2024\/04\/10\/pirates-another-role-bednar\/\" target=\"_self\">Pirates closer<\/a> <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/bednada01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-05-07_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">David Bednar<\/a> rarely ever performed better with Bart than Davis. Opponents crushed Bednar with an 11.2% BB% and .766 OPS when Bart caught him. Meanwhile, Bednar pitched to a solid 8.4% BB% and .565 opponent OPS with Davis. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bednar isn\u2019t the only former Pirates pitcher with noticeable splits by catcher. Last year, standout rookie <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/b\/burromi01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-05-07_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mike Burrows<\/a> owned a 20% K%, 9% BB%, and .816 opponent OPS with Bart, compared to a 27.3% K%, 6.4% BB%, and .561 opponent OPS with Davis. Another <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/03\/19\/former-pirates-bailey-falter-on-waivers-soon-royals-dfa\/\" target=\"_self\">former Pirates starter<\/a>, <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/f\/falteba01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-05-07_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Bailey Falter<\/a>, also saw a noticeable difference in splits between Bart (.707 opponent OPS, 1.88 K:BB ratio) and Davis (.687 OPS, 3.25 K:BB ratio).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Pirates have just two pitchers who have done better with Bart than Davis. However, the difference between them is very slim. <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/k\/kellemi03.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-05-07_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Mitch Keller<\/a> is one. Keller has struck out 20.1% of batters faced, with a 7.7% walk rate and a .715 OPS with Bart. However, he still maintains a similar 20.6% K%, 6.4% BB%, and .723 OPS with Davis. <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/m\/mattsis01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-05-07_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Isaac Mattson<\/a> is another Bucco hurler with better splits with Bart than Davis. Bart has coaxed a 25.4% K%, .540 opponent OPS, but a 15.1% BB% out of Mattson. Meanwhile, Davis has managed a 19% K%, 8.2% BB%, and .634 OPS from Mattson.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Skenes Goes with Davis as Personal Catcher<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, the best argument you could make for Henry Davis\u2019 game calling and defense significantly helping the Pirates&#8217; pitchers is that he is <a  target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.baseball-reference.com\/players\/s\/skenepa01.shtml?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2026-05-07_br\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Paul Skenes<\/a>\u2019 personal catcher. While Skenes is talented enough to throw six shutout innings with a traffic cone behind the plate, Skenes would not stick with Davis so frequently if he didn\u2019t fully trust his abilities to call games.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>It&#8217;s Beyond Just a Normal Split<\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It\u2019s normal for some pitchers to perform better with one catcher than the other. But when it\u2019s nearly every pitcher who has gotten ample opportunities to work with both catchers, along with former players who got to work with both backstops in previous seasons, it becomes somewhat of a problem, at the very least. If Bart isn\u2019t going to make up for his lack of defense or game-calling skills with his bat, then the Pirates must try to find an alternative and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/2026\/04\/27\/pirates-must-move-on-from-joey-bart\/\" target=\"_self\">move on from Bart<\/a>. Choosing Davis over Bart may not be a one-size-fits-all, magical overnight solution, but it surely can&#8217;t hurt the Pirates to try at this point.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Main Photo Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Pittsburgh Pirates have started Joey Bart behind the plate for a total of 14 games this year. They are a below .500 team when Bart starts behind the dish. However, the Pirates are a much better team when Henry Davis gets penciled into the starting lineup. It\u2019s not a pure coincidence that the Pirates\u2019 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5765,"featured_media":102286,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"818","footnotes":""},"categories":[1071,35,26],"tags":[6258,28972,4906,3632,5829,4875,29129,5766,2762,6371],"class_list":["post-121399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb","category-news","category-pirates","tag-bailey-falter","tag-braxton-ashcraft","tag-bubba-chandler","tag-carmen-mlodzinski","tag-david-bednar","tag-henry-davis","tag-isaac-mattson","tag-joey-bart","tag-mitch-keller","tag-paul-skenes"],"modified_by":"Lewis Masella, Site Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5765"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121399"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121399\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":121429,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121399\/revisions\/121429"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/102286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/baseball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}