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Giants MLB Trade Deadline Additions Featured in Newest Top 10 Prospect List

Originally posted on San Francisco Giants on SI
By Kenneth Teape | Last updated Aug 16, 2025 7:00 AM ET

One of the biggest undertakings that Buster Posey inherited when taking over as president of baseball operations for the San Francisco Giants last winter was to get the farm system heading in the right direction.

The Giants had one major prospect in their organization, slugging first baseman Bryce Eldridge, and not much else in the way of impact youngsters. There was excitement surrounding some other players, but there wasn’t another top 100 prospect outside of Eldridge.

That led to some questions about the long-term outlook of the franchise, as a good minor league system is imperative to a successful operation at the Major League level. It provides a pool of players to dip into should a need arise during the season or to build trade packages around for established players.

Upon taking the job, Posey’s main focus was on acquiring as much established talent as possible. He signed shortstop Willy Adames and future Hall of Fame starting pitcher Justin Verlander in free agency.

During the season, Rafael Devers was acquired in a shocking blockbuster from the Boston Red Sox. To land him, the Giants parted with young left-handed pitcher Kyle Harrison and 2024 first-round pick, outfielder James Tibbs III, along with right-handed pitching prospect Jose Bello and veteran right-hander Jordan Hicks.

Moving on from Tibbs was another blow to an already-thinning-out farm system. But, with the playoffs looking like an attainable goal at the time, it made a lot of sense to push some chips into the middle of the table.

Where are Drew Gilbert and Blade Tidwell in Giants prospect rankings?

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Alas, that playoff push fizzled out in the following weeks, leading to Posey adjusting the team’s game plan. He pivoted on a dime, becoming a seller and acquiring some much-needed young talent to infuse into the minor league system.

In the newest top 10 rankings shared by Kiley McDaniel of ESPN, a few of the prospects who were acquired ahead of the MLB trade deadline are now featured: outfielder Drew Gilbert and right-handed pitcher Blade Tidwell.

Both were acquired, along with right-handed pitcher Jose Butto, from the New York Mets in exchange for Tyler Rogers. It was a shrewd move by Posey, who took full advantage of an impending roster crunch for the Mets to bring on talent with upside.

Gilbert, who has already been called up to the Big Leagues as a replacement for the injured Jerar Encarnacion, landed at No. 3 amongst the team’s prospects, behind only Eldridge and shortstop Josuar Gonzalez. Tidwell also cracked the top 10, coming in at No. 8.

Shortstop Jhonny Level is also on the rise to No. 4, flipping spots with fellow middle infielder Gavin Kilen, who was the team’s first-round pick in the 2025 MLB Draft and now the No. 5-ranked player.

Carson Whisenhunt, who is also with the Big League club right now, dropped to No. 6 and is the only pitcher in the top 10, along with Tidwell, with a focus recently for decision-makers being on positional players.

Rounding out the top 10 are two center field prospects: Dakota Jordan, a fourth-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft out of Mississippi State University, and Bo Davidson, an undrafted free agent in 2023 that signed with the club for $50,000.