San Francisco Giants Rising Star Prospect Has Fascinating Origin Story

A name to get to know among San Francisco Giants prospect has an up and down backstory.

Jul 14, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; San Francisco Giants hat and glove on the bench against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Arizona Fall League is underway and all eyes have been on San Francisco Giants prospect Bryce Eldridge after the season that he had. However, he is not the only Giants minor leaguer there. One prospect, Bo Davidson, had a breakout season in 2024 and earned an invite. He has continued the hot streak, and recently gave an interview with MLB.com, talking about what he went through in the early days of his career.

Davidson was an undrafted free agent out of Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute in North Carolina in 2023. He played 16 games in the Complex League after signing, posting an .866 OPS in those games.

He then came into 2024 prepared for a full season, but he dealt with two stints on the injured list. In total, he played 63 games and spent most of his time with Single-A San Jose. On the season, the 22-year-old slashed .327/.437/.605 with a 1.042 OPS, 11 home runs, seven triples and 14 doubles. It may not have been a full season, but he dominated the California League.

Now, he is getting more at-bats in Arizona. It hasn't been an easy path for him, but he isn't shying away from that.

"[There was] some family stuff, but I really low-key gave up on baseball. I was done with it. Then, something kept telling me to come back," he said.

He did not go into detail, but Davidson wasn't playing baseball from 2021 to 2023. It didn't take long after his return for teams to start to notice him, and he knew it.

"All I can say is they were really liking me, everything I did. I have tools, raw tools," he said.

Although he wasn't drafted, Davidson got a $50,000 signing bonus from the Giants. That hasn't stopped him from working hard to get back into the game, and it's been going without a hitch thus far. So far in the AFL, he is hitting .263 with two doubles, one of which was mashed at 111.1 mph. He attributes his bat speed to his upbringing.

"That’s from me being a kid swinging a big bat when I was little. My brothers, my mom, my dad all played slow-pitch softball, so there were bats around. I just wanted to pick them up as a kid," Davidson explained.

Baseball works in mysterious ways. One day, you think you're done with the game. The next, you're playing among the elite prospects in the game. The left handed hitting outfielder has become a name to watch in San Francisco's system in a hurry.