The Giants added a left-handed bat with their lone pick on the first day of the Major League Baseball Draft, taking Florida State outfielder James Tibbs III with the 13th overall selection in the first round Sunday.
Tibbs, 21, had 55 home runs in 176 games over three seasons at Florida State, hitting .338 with an OPS of 1.147. In winning the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year as a junior, Tibbs hit .363 with 28 home runs and 95 RBIs in just 66 games.
The last Florida State product selected in Round 1 by the Giants was catcher Buster Posey in 2008. It was the highest draft pick for the Seminoles since the Posey selection at No. 5 overall.
“When he got his number retired, he came and talked to us,” Tibbs said in a teleconference with Bay Area reporters. “Just being able to learn from him and hear from him and how he approached the game was something super inspiring. I can’t wait to learn more if I ever get that opportunity.”
The Giants did not have picks in the second and third rounds because free agents Matt Chapman and Blake Snell turned down qualifying offers before signing with San Francisco. They also lost $1 million of their international signing bonus pool.
It’s James Tibbs world and we’re all just living in it!!!!!
The first Nole since 2010 with a 3-HR game!
T12 | FSU 10, UConn 8 pic.twitter.com/yAT8g75X7A
— FSU Baseball (@FSUBaseball) June 8, 2024
Tibbs watched the draft from home with a large cheering section.
“We had about a hundred people at the house,” Tibbs said. “Coaches, all the way down to the first travel ball team I ever played on. So many friends and family. To be able to experience that with so many people, it means the world to me.”
𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 📞@JamesTibbsIII | #MLBDraft pic.twitter.com/MKlWjHM9bu
— FSU Baseball (@FSUBaseball) July 15, 2024
As for his game, Tibbs said he is looking for a consistent approach.
“Do the same thing every day,” Tibbs said. “I’ll take walks, I’m going to drive the baseball to all parts of the field, and play great defense and continue to improve on all those things.
“I’m hungry and willing to work and want to be a part of championship baseball.”
The Seminoles advanced to the College World Series in 2024 and finished 49-17, with a highlight being a three-home run game by Tibbs in a Super Regional win over UConn. Florida State was eliminated by eventual champion Tennessee in Omaha.
“James is a guy we’ve scouted dating back to high school, a guy we really saw develop through his years at Florida State,” Giants director of amateur scouting Michael Holmes said in a teleconference. “We really believe in his bat, his ability to hit and hit with power, and the left-handed aspect of him being able to drive the ball to all fields.”
Tibbs’ 27th home run moved him past Posey for the seventh-best single-season total in Florida State history. Holmes said Posey is familiar with Tibbs and said “we’re really excited to have another Seminole be a forever Giant.”
Tibbs (6-foot-2, 204) is not regarded as particularly athletic and is projected as a left fielder with the potential of moving to first base. He jumped to first-round status with his junior campaign and his work in the Cape Cod League with a wood bat last summer with a slash line of .303/.390/472 with six home runs in the Cape Cod League.
Tibbs was ranked as the No. 12 overall prospect by MLB.com and some scouts believe he is one of the more major-league ready players in the draft. As a junior, Tibbs had more walks (57) than strikeouts (38).
“We know he has the ability and skills to be a really good major league hitter,” Holmes said. “Whatever pace that comes at, I like to tell players they kind of set their own pace based on the way they go out and perform. We feel he’s got a little bit of a leg up because of that zone control. We’ll get him indoctrinated and allow his play dictate how it goes.”
The last outfielders the Giants selected in the first round were Hunter Bishop of Arizona State in 2019 and Heliot Ramos of the Leadership Christian Academy of Puerto Rico in 2016.
At Pope High in Marietta, Ga., Tibbs helped lead his team to the 6A championship in 2018 and a runner-up finish in 2019.
Tibbs will command an approximate rookie contract of $5.27 million, according to MLB.com.
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Source: www.mercurynews.com