SAN FRANCISCO _ Thirty-three years after the Giants selected Will Clark with the No. 2 overall pick in the 1985 MLB draft, Clark was in uniform at AT&T Park when the franchise was on the clock Monday.
With the No. 2 selection in the 2018 MLB draft, the Giants chose Joey Bart, a catcher out of Georgia Tech.
Bart joins Clark, a six-time All-Star and Giants special instructor, as the highest-selected draftee in the franchise's history. The Giants have never held the No. 1 overall pick and only selected in the top five on five different occasions since the draft began in 1965.
A highly touted power hitter who led the ACC in batting average in 2018, Bart impressed the Giants with his bat control and well-rounded skill set.
"Gifted defensively, had a big year with the bat, led the ACC in hitting, second in slugging, just had a big year on both sides of the ball," manager Bruce Bochy said. "You look at him, he's a man. A good sized kid that's really developed his game."
Forty-five minutes before the Detroit Tigers opened the draft by taking Auburn pitcher Casey Mize with the top choice, Clark was on the field chatting with outfielder Hunter Pence and infielder Alen Hanson as they took batting practice.
Clark, third baseman Matt Williams (1986), pitcher Jason Grilli (1997) and catcher Buster Posey (2008) are the four players the franchise has tabbed with top five picks, and all four went on to earn All-Star nods during their major league careers.
Like Posey, Bart is a native of Georgia and a product of an ACC school. A 2018 All-American and a Golden Spikes Award semifinalist, Bart was originally drafted in the 27th round of the 2015 draft by the Tampa Bay Rays but chose to attend college.
Bart hit 16 home runs and 12 doubles while batting .359 for Georgia Tech this season, but developed a reputation as one of the strongest two-way prospects in college baseball thanks to his command of his pitching staff.
"He looks like he's pretty advanced," Bochy said. "I don't know where he's going to start for us, but you look at the size of this kid and the success that he's had, plus the intangibles. He's been calling his own game so that's always nice to know."
The Giants have not announced which minor league level Bart will start at, but he'll likely play games for short-season Salem-Keizer in the Northwest League and could play his way onto the roster at Low-A Augusta or even High-A San Jose by the end of the year.
Since Posey's selection in 2008, four of the last nine first round draft choices by the Giants have been traded. The franchise did not have a first round pick in 2016 after forfeiting a selection to sign free agent Jeff Samardzija.
Seven of the players on the Giants 25-man roster were drafted by the franchise, including 2011 first round choice Joe Panik and 2012 first round selection Chris Stratton.
