San Francisco Giants Take Power Hitting College Star in MLB Draft

The San Francisco Giants added to their prospect pipeline with a first-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft.

Jun 18, 2024; Omaha, NE, USA; Florida State Seminoles right fielder James Tibbs III (22) hits a double against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the fifth inning at Charles Schwab Field Omaha. / Dylan Widger-USA TODAY Sports

The San Francisco Giants selected Florida State outfielder James Tibbs III with the No. 13 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft on Sunday night.

Baseball America rated Tibbs as one of the top players in the College World Series earlier this summer, behind only Texas A&M’s Braden Montgomery and Florida’s Jac Caglianone. Both were selected ahead of Tibbs on Sunday.

Giants leadership, including president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi made the selection, the latest as the Giants continue to replenish their farm system.

The MLB Draft was held in Fort Worth, about a 20-minue drive from Arlington, Texas, the home of Globe Life Field, the Texas Rangers and the All-Star Game, which is set for Tuesday night. The All-Star Home Run Derby is set for Monday.

The left-handed hitting Tibbs was a three-year star for the Seminoles, who entered the CWS with the best stat line of his career. He was slashing .375/.497/.813/1.310 with 28 home runs and 94 RBI.

He also caught the attention of scouts after his play in the Cape Cod League last year, as he hit .299 with six home runs, six doubles and 27 RBI for the Brewster Whitecaps. He was an All-Star, Team MVP and Home Run Derby Champion.

Heliot Ramos is one of the most recent first-round pick to make the Giants’ roster and will play for San Francisco in the All-Star Game on Tuesday in Arlington, Texas. Ramos was the Giants’ No. 19 overall pick in 2017 out of the Leadership Christian Academy in Puerto Rico.

Since then, the Giants selected Georgia Tech catcher Joey Bart No. 2 overall in 2018, Arizona State outfielder Hunter Bishop No. 10 overall in 2019, North Carolina State catcher Patrick Bailey No. 13 overall in 2020, Mississippi State pitcher Will Bednar No. 14 overall in 2021, UConn first baseman and pitcher Reggie Crawford No. 30 overall in 2022 and Vienna (Va.) high school star Bryce Eldridge No. 16 overall last year.

Bailey is now the Giants’ starting catcher. Bart was traded to Pittsburgh in April. Bishop is with Triple-A Sacramento. Bednar is pitching at Double-A Richmond. Crawford is at Triple-A Sacramento. Eldridge is at High-A Eugene and recently played in the MLB Futures Game.

The Giants wrapped up their first half of the season with a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Twins on Sunday at Oracle Park. Blake Snell made his best start of the season so far for San Francisco, but it took a walk-off hit by Mike Yastrzemski to clinch the victory.

The Giants head into the All-Star break with a 47-50 record and are nine games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. They are only three games out of the final NL Wild Card spot.

Along with Ramos, pitcher Logan Webb will represent the Giants in the All-Star Game.

The rest of the Giants will get four days off after a first half of the season that include the loss of two Giants legends in June — Hall-of-Famers Willie Mays and Orlando Cepeda.