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Giants Recent First Round Pick Starring With Dodgers Minor League Team After Trade
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With the No. 13 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, the San Francisco Giants selected James Tibbs III, a corner outfielder out of Florida State University.

He got off to an incredible start in his first taste of professional baseball, playing only nine games at Single-A San Jose before the Giants decided they had seen enough and moved him to High-A Eugene.

With San Jose, Tibbs had a .415/.429/.512 slash line, hitting four doubles and impressing the organization right away through his first 42 plate appearances as a pro.

His hot start cooled considerably with Eugene, producing a .134/.216/.239 slash line in 74 plate appearances.

Tibbs would start the 2025 campaign at High-A again, playing in 57 games before his career would be upended by a trade.

In mid-June, San Francisco completed a shocking blockbuster with the Boston Red Sox centered around star slugger Rafael Devers.

The Florida State product was a part of the return package to the Red Sox along with left-handed pitcher Kyle Harrison, right-handed pitcher Jordan Hicks and right-handed pitching prospect Jose Bello.

Tibbs produced a .246/.379/.478 slash line at Eugene before the trade with 12 home runs, 10 doubles, one triple and 32 RBI.

James Tibbs III has gotten off to hot start with new team

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That was enough for Boston to move him to the next level, as he reported to Double-A Portland.

His stay there was short-lived, but not because of a promotion.

He was on the move again, being traded by the Red Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers, along with outfielder Zach Ehrhard, in exchange for Dustin May.

This is where a nightmare scenario could arise for the Giants because they may now have to face off against Tibbs, playing for their rival, in the near future if he reaches his potential.

He has wasted no time making San Francisco fans queasy. 

That could be how things play out, down the road, already having an immediate impact at Double-A Tulsa, putting together a huge performance on Wednesday.

Tibbs recorded his first two home runs as a member of the Dodgers organization, going deep twice against the Corpus Christi Hooks, the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros.

Trading a prospect away and watching them develop into a productive player is a risk teams always take. But, having a recent first-round pick end up with a rival after being re-routed would be a different level of pain.

It will hurt seeing Tibbs playing for Los Angeles, but San Francisco is certainly happy to have a player of Devers’s caliber in the middle of their lineup as a result.

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This article first appeared on San Francisco Giants on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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