Giants Baseball Insider

Young Slugger Projected as San Francisco Giants' Next Top Prospect

The San Francisco Giants are predicted to have a different No. 1 minor-league prospect by this time next year

Dylan Sanders

May 25, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Florida State outfielder James Tibbs III (22) seen warming up before the game against Wake Forest during the ACC Baseball Tournament at Truist Field.
May 25, 2024; Charlotte, NC, USA; Florida State outfielder James Tibbs III (22) seen warming up before the game against Wake Forest during the ACC Baseball Tournament at Truist Field. / Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images
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The San Francisco Giants have been searching for true star talent for the past few years. Just as they start spending money in free agency, a couple of prospects are starting to show potential as well.

In just the past two seasons, the Giants have signed (and in some cases lost) well-established players like Matt Chapman, Blake Snell and Willy Adames.

The driving force behind that is that the roster, while solid, has lacked a true star. Along with getting solid contributions from those signings the returns form recent drafts are starting to show real results.

MLB prospect analyst Jim Callis recently looked to each team's pipeline to guess the player that will be the No. 1 prospect next year and for San Francisco, it is expected to be someone knew.

Right now, it is slugging first base prospect Bryce Eldridge. Callis predicts that it will be outfielder James Tibbs III by this time next year.

This is not a knock on Eldridge at all, rather a compliment to his development and an endorsement of Tibbs.

Eldridge, just recently turning 20, rose all the way from High-A to Triple-A last year. Many people excpect to see him graduate from prospect status by the end of 2025, which would leave room for Tibbs at the top.

The Virginia native was the No. 16 overall selection in the 2023, and would likely be taken much higher if teams were given a second chance right now.

Just a year ago he was still deciding if he would be a pitcher or first baseman at the next level.

He and San Francisco agreed to send him down a path as a hitter and it paid off. The youngster posted a .292/.374/.516 slash line last season in the minors and hit 23 home runs with 92 RBI along the way.

Tibbs did not have exactly as hot of a start to his professional career, but there is at least reason to believe that he can develop quickly to.

He was taken slightly higher than his peer, at No. 13 overall after a couple of seasons with the Florida State Seminoles.

The 22-year-old had a career slash line of .338/.462/.685 in college and hit 28 home runs in his last season alone.

All eyes will be on his first full professional season next year. If all goes the Giants' way, they will have two young stars to look forward to.

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Dylan Sanders
DYLAN SANDERS

Dylan Sanders graduated from Louisiana State University with a degree from the Manship School of Mass Communication in 2023. He was born in raised in Baton Rouge, LA but has also lived in Buffalo, NY. Though he is a recent graduate, he has been writing about sports since he was in high school, covering different sports from baseball to football. While in college, he wrote for the school paper The Reveille and for 247Sports. He was able cover championships in football, baseball and women's basketball during his time at LSU. He has also spent a few years covering the NFL draft and every day activities of the New Orleans Saints. He is a Senior Writer at Inside the Marlins and will also be found across Sports Illustrated's baseball sites as a contributing writer. You can follow him on Twitter or Instagram @dillysanders

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