The San Francisco Giants have had great success drafting position players from Florida State in the first round of the MLB Draft. And 16 years after selecting Buster Posey, the organization is looking to repeat that success: With the 13th overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, the Giants selected outfielder James Tibbs III from FSU.
Tibbs is considered one of the most MLB-ready players in the draft, especially when it comes to position players. The left-handed hitter, who turns 22 in October, has fantastic bat and strike zone control, and posted a .300 batting average over his three years of college. He also saw his power skyrocket throughout his tenure at Florida State — after hitting a combined 27 home runs in his first two seasons, Tibbs hit 28 dingers in his junior season alone, which was one of the highest marks in college baseball.
ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel ranked Tibbs as the No. 11 prospect in the draft, saying, “For some scouts, Tibbs is the most polished college hitter, second only to (first-round pick Travis) Bazzana, and is a toss-up with (fourth-round pick Nick) Kurtz for many teams at this point in their rankings.”
Keith Law of The Athletic ranked Tibbs 14th in his rankings, saying, “He makes excellent swing decisions and his contact quality is strong, hitting over 110 mph for his maximum EV this spring after topping out at 105 last summer with wood.”
He was also ranked No. 14 in Fangraphs’ draft prospect rankings, with the site noting that “Tibbs has one of the best floors in the 2024 draft as a left-handed hitter with a mix of steady contact and power. Lightning-quick hands allow him to catch pitches from the inside half to his pull side and generate opposing contact on pitches that travel deeper in the zone. There are times when Tibbs’ swing looks like a dead ringer for Steven Kwan, especially against deep pitches; his hands and the way he uses the ground are very similar, though that’s certainly not a tradeoff for Tibbs’ overall feel for the shot. A notable data point here is the consistency of Tibbs’ hard contact,” before concluding that “there’s not really a signature tool here, just a consistent, well-rounded profile that resembles a speedy corner platoon outfielder.”
While analysts are unanimous in praising Tibbs for his zone control, quality contact and high floor, they are also unanimous in their concerns about his ability to hit left-handed pitches. The Georgia native struggled (relatively speaking) hitting lefties in college, so he could end up as a platoon outfielder, a phrase that probably makes a lot of Giants fans cringe (even though he would be the strongest point of the platoon, as a lefty).
But it’s also very possible that the organization will consider some changes to Tibbs’ swing and approach to help him succeed against left-handed pitchers. But that may be putting the cart before the horse.
Tibbs is certainly a prospect who fits the Giants’ profile. He’s a high-level player who was named Academic All-American and ACC Scholar Athlete of the Year. He has fantastic batting discipline, and in his final collegiate season he drew 57 walks while striking out just 38. He has a swing designed for contact. And, as seems to be a prerequisite to earning the Giants’ interest, he had a solid showing in the Cape Cod League last year, hitting .303/.390/.472.
But what stood out most to Tibbs this year was his performance at Florida State, where he hit an impressive .363/.488/.777 in a solid conference. He homered once every 11.4 plate appearances and recorded a whopping 95 RBIs in just 320 plate appearances. You don’t need a Master’s degree in baseball scouting to know that those numbers are pretty darn good.
One twist in the minor leagues this year is that the short-season rookie schedule has been moved up a month, meaning the Arizona Complex League season ends in less than two weeks. As a result, a large portion of the players selected in the 2024 draft will have to wait until 2025 to make their debuts. But with Tibbs considered a fairly experienced player, it wouldn’t be surprising if he still gets some regular playing time after the draft by spending the rest of the season with Low-A San Jose.
Tibbs will be the Giants’ last draft pick for a while, as the team sacrificed its second- and third-round picks when it signed Matt Chapman and Blake Snell in free agency this offseason. Fortunately, he appears to be worth the appreciation.
Welcome to the Giants, James!
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