The San Francisco Giants, despite losing their 2nd and 3rd round pick due to signing two players with qualifying offers – Matt Chapman and Blake Snell - had a fantastic draft and here’s a quick scouting report of each of the players drafted by the San Francisco Giants along with one undrafted free agent.
First Round (13th Overall): James Tibbs III – OF/1B (Florida State)
With their 1st round pick, the Giants were able to land a big time power hitter, the ACC Player of the Year, James Tibbs III. Tibbs is a left-handed power hitter with a massive amount of confidence and ability with the bat. He already proved himself during two excellent seasons, hitting over .300 with power, but this year, jumped into first round consideration after hitting .363 with a monstrous 28 bombs in just 251 at bats - equating to about 60 for a full big league season. He also has a ridiculous ability to avoid strikeouts considering that type of power - with just 37 K’s all year compared to 58 walks. His OPS nearly hit 1.300. He will likely play left field due to his average at best speed, but he did steal 8 bases, just getting caught once. Tibbs is a highly intelligent player who can simply rake, and he has a chance to be the first left-fielder to start on Opening Day two seasons in a row for the Giants since Barry Bonds.
Fourth Round (113th Overall): Dakota Jordan – OF (Mississippi State)
On my Top 250 MLB Draft Prospect ranking this year, I have James Tibbs III at #22 and immediately following him at #23 is Dakota Jordan. Incredibly, he fell all the way to 113 and the Giants did the right thing by snagging him. A top prospect out of High School, Dakota Jordan went undrafted due to his strong commitment to Mississippi State, where he absolutely raked for 2 seasons, including a 2024 in which he smashed 20 bombs with a .354 average. His bat speed is off the charts and he has made massive improvements in his plate discipline, improving pitch recognition and walk rate. Jordan will still occasionally chase breaking balls out of the zone and strike out a little too much, but the upside is insane and he can absolutely crush a baseball like almost no one else, despite all the amazing hitters in this year’s draft. He’s also very fast as a former wide receiver and his defensive chops have improved but still need work and he has an average arm. Jordan was expected to be picked in the 1st or 2nd round but the Giants got him in the fourth.
Fifth Round (149th Overall): Jakob Christian – OF (University of San Diego)
In the 5th round, the Giants got another big power bat with the 149th pick named Jakob Christian, another guy on my Top 250. He’s 6’5”, 225 lbs and started his career at Division II Point Loma Nazarene, where he .408 with 28 bombs in 2023 and won the CCA Player of the Year Award, earning a shot in D1 baseball. All he did was hit .364 with 26 big flies, earning West Coast Conference Player of the Year. He’s crushed pitching at every level he’s seen and with his amazing swing and knowledge of the strike zone, there’s no reason to think he won’t keep doing the same in the professional ranks. He also has a strong arm and could play right field. With their first 3 picks, the Giants might have filled up their outfield for the 2026 or 2027 season.
Sixth Round (178th Overall): Robert Hipwell – 3B (Santa Clara)
I was hoping the Giants would draft big college bats, and they did not disappoint, with yet another power bat, this time a 3rd baseman out of Santa Clara, Robert Hipwell, who I also scouted and put on my Top 250 list. He is a disciplined left-handed hitter who works a ton of walks, but can also smash the baseball to all fields with elite exit velocities. He was ranked as the 5th best High School 3rd baseman in the state of California in 2021 and went on to Santa Clara, where he hit .329 with an OPS over 1.200 in 2023. I unfortunately have to mention he did miss most of 2024 due to a failed PED test from an over-the-counter supplement he said he did not know was banned, but came back looking great, finishing the year with a .957 OPS. Before that, Hipwell was a possible first round pick and the Giants were able to get him in the 6th round.
Seventh Round (208th Overall): Greg Farone – LHP (Alabama)
In the 7th round, the Giants tap into some pitching talent at the University of Alabama with Greg Farone, who started his college career at Herkimer Community College, where he completely dominated and even threw a perfect game. Farone ended up in the SEC at Alabama with stops in Louisville and various summerball teams along the way. He is a powerful 6’6” arm with simple repeatable mechanics and excellent stuff. His fastball is his best pitch and it sits in the mid-90’s, but he can also throw a slider, curve and changeup. He has a 9.8 strikeout per 9 ratio in his D1 college career. This year, he earned a spot as the Crimson Tide’s Friday night starter and consistently went deep into games, including a complete game shutout against Ole Miss.
Eighth Round (238th Overall): Niko Mazza – RHP (Southern Mississippi)
Another D1 starter, Niko Mazza slowly worked his way into being one of the best starters in the Sun Belt Conference. He went 9-3 this year with a sub 4 ERA and 95 strikeouts in 90 innings. He was incredibly consistent, striking out at least 7 batters in 8 starts and at one point, threw 15 1/3rd scoreless innings. He finished the season, just last month, with a complete game shutout and 2-hitter against Northern Kentucky in which he walked just 2 batters. He has excellent control, a fastball that approaches triple digits, and even in High School, was considered a top prospect, ranked as the 2nd best arm in the state of Mississippi and a 10 out of 10 at Perfect Game. He isn’t the biggest guy at 5’11”, but the stuff is undeniable and he could move through the minors very quickly.
Ninth Round (268th Overall): Zane Zielinsky – SS (University of Illinois at Chicago)
Zielinsky is a 6’3” shortstop who quietly had a monster year at Illinois Chicago this year, hitting .363 with 8 bombs and also stole 20 bases, getting caught just 4 times. He had an OPS north of 1.000 and played elite defense as well. He’s a well-rounded 5-tool player who can pretty much do it all, including work walks. This year, he had an incredibly impressive .449 on-base percentage, reaching base in nearly half of his plate appearances. He’s only had one really big season, though, and it’s unknown how he’ll hit professional pitching, but based on this year’s performance, he’s definitely earned a shot.
Tenth Round (298th Overall): Cade Vernon – RHP (Murray State University)
Senior Cade Vernon has been a consistent arm and total Bulldog for Murray State for four seasons, starting 41 total games and throwing over 245 innings. This year, he started 15 games and led the team with 75 strikeouts. He consistently gets into the 7th inning and only twice all season did he fail to make it through at least 5. He has very good stuff and good command of all his pitches, but isn’t completely dominant and will give up some hits and runs, but typically limits the damage and gives his team a chance to win, hence a solid 8-3 record and 4.67 ERA. He walked just 18 hitters all year long. If he continues to trust his stuff in the pros and hit his spots, he could end up as a quality long reliever or middle to back of the rotation starter.
Eleventh Round (328th Overall): Andy Polanco – OF (Central Point Christian Academy)
There’s not a ton of info on Andy Polanco, but based on the few videos out there, he has tremendous bat speed and excellent hand eye-coordination allowing him to make consistent contact, even on pitches out of the zone most hitters probably shouldn’t even swing at. He is 6’4”, 195 lbs and currently committed to Central Florida, where he’ll go if he doesn’t sign with the Giants. He has a powerful throwing arm and can hit 89 MPH on the mound with good speed and solid defensive capabilities. He will be some one to watch closely in San Jose to really gauge his potential.
Twelfth Round (358th Overall): Zander Darby – 3B (UC Santa Barbara)
UC Santa Barbara had an incredible team this season, resulting in 6 of their players being drafted into the pros. One of them, Zander Darby, I personally scouted and placed at #54 on my Top 250, meaning I saw 2nd Round talent. The Giants got Darby at #358. I placed him so high mainly due to his elite performance with a wood bat in the Cape Cod League, where he hit .292 in 2023 with an on-base percentage over .400 facing some of the best pitchers in the country. He also raked with a wood bat in the West Coast League in 2022. At UC Santa Barbara, he showed power potential with 20 bombs and posted elite contact rates, limiting strikeout and working walks. In batting practice, he crushes baseballs out of the ballpark all over the field. His stats are impressive but not insane – but I see big league potential in his overall game and am excited to see how he progresses though the Giants farm system.
Thirteenth Round (388th Overall): Drake George – RHP (Lewis-Clark State College)
With their 13th round pick, the Giants tapped into the NAIA with Drake George, the co-CCC pitcher of the year. He struck out over 10 batters per inning this year with an excellent fastball and consistently goes deep into games, including one 9-inning complete game. He only gave up 4 home runs all season long and incredibly, his team won his first 11 starts of the year. George did give up 72 hits in 66 innings and walked 21 batters, helping result in a somewhat high 4.91 ERA, but has excellent stuff and stamina but needs to improve his command and gain more trust in his secondary pitches.
Fourteenth Round (418th Overall): Jeremiah Jenkins – 1B (University of Maine)
I watched Jenkins play on ESPN+ after searching for some of the leaders in D1 baseball stats and seeing his name amongst the top in multiple offensive categories. He looked incredible and I immediately added him to my Top 250 prospects list, very high at #87. To my pleasant surprise, the Giants drafted him as the 418th overall pick. The left-handed power hitter had two insane seasons in a row. In 2023 he hit .366 with 21 bombs and a 1.250 OPS and then this year, repeated almost the same season with a .341 average, 22 homers and a 1.213 OPS. He hit 50 bombs in 551 at bats at Maine also raked in the wood bat summer leagues over the past 3 seasons. He’s not especially fast, but is a natural hitter and is good enough defensively to hold it down at 1st base although he could also obviously DH. He has a funky swing but for him, it works and hopefully the Giants coaches won’t try to mess with it. Just let him do what he does and hopefully someday he’ll make it to San Francisco.
Fifteenth Round (448th Overall): Evan Gray – RHP (St. Louis University)
Former Arkansas Razorback Evan Gray struggled to find playing time in Fayetteville and transferred to the Atlantic 10 Conference, where he came out of the bullpen for St. Louis University, limiting opponents to a .192 batting average while striking out 10.2 hitters per 9 innings. He walked just 9 batters and showed an ability to come in and get starting pitchers out of jams. He only has 48.2 career college innings in 4 seasons, so it will be a process to develop some stamina and adjust to the pros, but he definitely has potential and could be a solid bullpen arm in the future.
Sixteenth Round (478th Overall): Tyler Switalski – LHP (West Virginia)
After two years at Gardner-Webb, the 6’4” lefty Tyler Switalski transferred to West Virginia and had a solid year, starting 14 games. He got better as the season went along and finished the year looking strong, getting into the 7th inning in his last two starts. He throws from a standard 3/4th slot and implements a high 80’s fastball with late movement and a wipeout slider. His strikeout stuff isn’t insane by today’s standards but he does a great job of limiting walks and not beating himself. In his last 4 appearances, he threw at least 5 innings each game and averaged just 1.25 walks per start. He certainly has the command and control - the question will be whether or not he has the raw stuff to get pro hitters out.
Seventeenth Round (508th Overall): Hunter Dryden – RHP (Whitworth University)
Only 6 players have ever been drafted from DIII Whitworth and no one has made the big leagues since the 1960’s, but the Giants gave a shot to righty Hunter Dryden who started his college career as a reliever but ended up in the Whitworth rotation in 2022. He had a nice season, showing amazing strikeout stuff but struggled with control. Over the next two years, he showed vast improvements in that area and this year, walked just 12 batters all season long. This helped improve the rest of his stats and he had a 2.1 ERA and 9.3 per 9 strikeout ratio. Against more advanced competition in the MLB Draft League, he held his own this year, with an even 3 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 30 innings. I’m excited to see a Division III player given a shot and will be following his pro career, hoping he can climb the ladder in the minor leagues.
Eighteenth Round (538th Overall): Ryan Slater – RHP (Florida)
Long reliever Ryan Slater was at one time a possible top prospect coming out of High School with a 1.18 ERA with 71 strikeouts in 68 innings, but went undrafted because of a commitment to Florida. For the past 3 seasons, he has been a consistent arm out of the Gators bullpen, making no less than 26 appearances per season, with occasional starts. He has some impressive stamina for some one primarily used as a reliever and threw 5 scoreless innings in an emergency start during the 2023 Regionals. Unfortunately, he’s had some command issues and allowed 62 hits and 17 walks in 49 innings this year, striking out 44 batters. His stuff is very good but he’s lacked consistency and has at time frustrated Gator fans with low quality relief appearances. When he’s good, he’s great, but when he is off, his definitely off and will need to be more consistent in the pros to have a shot at the big leagues.
Ninteenth Round (568th Overall): Ryan Ure – LHP (Oklahoma State)
One of my favorite picks in the draft for the Giants comes in the 19th round and it’s Ryan Ure, a player I personally scouted and ranked as my #196 overall draft prospect. The Giants got him at #568. The tall and imposing Ryan Ure has been turning heads since High School and he has already been selected in the draft by the Texas Rangers back in 2021. Instead of signing, he honored his commitment to Oklahoma State and overpowered hitters out of the bullpen with a heater that can reach triple digits along with a deceptive slider, resulting in a 13.5 per 9 strikeout ratio. The 6’8” lefty brings visions of Randy Johnson and he has an insanely high ceiling. The bad news is he has struggled with injuries and missed all of 2023 with Tommy John Surgery. In 2024, he made only 9 appearances but showed insane stuff in that small sample size, hitting 103 miles per hour in his first game back. If Ure can stay healthy, he could at a minimum be an absolute weapon against left-handed hitters out of the bullpen. .
Twentieth Round (598th Overall): Fernando Gonzalez – C (Georgia)
In the 20th round, the Giants used their final selection to take catcher Fernando Gonzalez out of Georgia. He’s has a compact and athletic build with an extremely powerful arm, quick arm action and very impressive pop times. He earned his way into the Georgia starting lineup and this season, hit .292 with 9 home runs. He doesn’t walk a ton but limits strikeouts and has shown some impressive bat to ball skills. He could end up being a quality backup catcher the MLB level.
Undrafted Free Agent: Ben Peterson – RHP (North Carolina)
And the final new player in the Giants organization is an undrafted free agent named Ben Peterson, who primarily came out of the bullpen for the Tar Heels. He has an electric fastball that approaches triple digits and some solid secondary pitches as well. This season, he struck out 30 batters in 30 innings, but struggled with control with 20 walks and 7 hit by pitches. The stuff is excellent and he will just have to make big improvements with his control in the minors, but there is definite potential there.
