Intriguing San Francisco Giants Prospect Just Misses Cut For MLB.com's Top 100

When the San Francisco Giants selected James Tibbs III with the 13th overall pick in the 2024 MLB draft, they added an advanced hitter with major upside to their organizational pipeline.
Less than a year later, Tibbs III was one of the last 10 names cut from MLB.com's 2025 pre-season Top 100 prospect rankings, Ben Weinrib revealed in an article on Monday.
Tibbs III was a revelation at Florida State in 2024, slashing .363/.488/.777 as a junior while socking 28 home runs and driving in 95 runs. In putting up those gaudy numbers, he proved to be one of the very best and most prolific hitters in the country, leading the Seminoles to a 49-17 record.
The season featured a long run in the ACC tournament before a loss to Duke as well as an appearance in Omaha for the College World Series, where the Seminoles earned victories over Virginia and North Carolina before bowing out at the hands of Tennessee.
Tibbs III's success throughout the season made it a foregone conclusion that he would leave school early for the draft as a consensus first round pick. The Giants made him their guy at 13th, and Tibbs III got reps in both Single-A and High-A after signing with the organization.
His overall results were not outstanding, but they rarely are with collegiate hitters turned pro right after the draft process. Over 116 at-bats between the two levels, Tibbs III hit two homers and drove in six runs while producing a .241/.293/.343 slash line for the San Jose Giants and Eugene Emeralds.
The Giants have a lot riding on the success of prospects like Tibbs III, as the organization only placed one youngster on MLB.com's Top 100, with first baseman Bryce Eldridge checking in at 24th in the league.
This is also borne out by ESPN.com's ranking of the league's 30 farm systems. The Giants held the 29th spot there, though author Kiley McDaniel pointed out that it was largely due to the recent graduations from the system of players like Patrick Bailey, Kyle Harrison, and Marco Luciano.
But as the club's new president of baseball operations Buster Posey weighs the balance between building a contender now and setting the team up for future success, there's no question that he's excited a fellow Florida State Seminole looks to be a pillar he can build around for the years down the road.
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