First-Round Pick Signs Huge Deal With San Francisco Giants

The San Francisco Giants have signed Florida State outfielder James Tibbs III, their first-round pick, to a contract, as reported by MLB Pipeline.

Tibbs was the No. 13 overall pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. With that selection his pick carried a slot value of $5.272 million. San Francisco was able to get him for several hundred thousand under slot, as he signed for a reported $4.747 million.

Tibbs and the Seminoles reached the College World Series this June, where Baseball America rated him the No. 3 player among those at the annual national championship in Omaha, Neb.

The left-handed hitting Tibbs was a three-year star for the Seminoles, who entered the CWS with the best stat line of his career. He was slashing .375/.497/.813/1.310 with 28 home runs and 94 RBI.

It’s that power that MLB Pipeline said intrigued teams, along with a track record of hitting in college and in the Cape Cod League last year. With the Brewster Whitecape he hit .299 with six home runs, six doubles and 27 RBI and was named an All-Star, Team MVP and Home Run Derby Champion.

Per the MLB Draft tracker, the Giants did not have a second- or third-round pick. So San Francisco’s next two selections are, as of this writing, unsigned. That would be fourth-round pick Dakota Jordan, an outfielder from Mississippi State, and fifth-round pick Jakob Christian, an outfielder from the University of San Diego.

The Giants have signed the rest of their selections from the first 10 rounds. That included Santa Clara third baseman Robert Hipwell, Alabama pitcher Greg Farone, Southern Miss pitcher Niko Mazza, University of Illinois-Chicago shortstop Zane Zielinski and Murray State pitcher Cade Vernon.

The Giants have had some recent success getting their first-round picks to the Majors, the most recent being outfielder Heliot Ramos, who was selected No. 19 overall pick in 2017 out of the Leadership Christian Academy in Puerto Rico. He represented the Giants in the All-Star Game earlier this month.

The Giants’ 2020 first-round pick, catcher Patrick Bailey, starts behind the plate for San Francisco.

All MLB teams must have their draft picks signed by Aug. 1.

(Round, player, school, position, bat/throw)

Bold: Reported signing

Round 1: James Tibbs III, Florida State, OF, L/L

Round 4: Dakota Jordan, Mississippi State, OF, R/R

Round 5: Jakob Christian, University of San Diego, OF, R/R

Round 6: Robert Hipwell, Santa Clara, 3B, L/R

Round 7: Greg Farone, Alabama, P, L/L

Round 8: Niko Mazza, Southern Miss, P, L/R

Round 9: Zane Zielinski, University of Illinois-Chicago, SS, R/R

Round 10: Cade Vernon, Murray State, P, S/R

Round 11: Andy Polanco, Central Pointe Christian Academy (FL), Dominican Republic, OF, R/R

Round 12: Zander Darby, UC Santa Barbara, 3B, L/R

Round 13: Drake George, Lewis-Clark State, P, R/R

Round 14: Jeremiah Jenkins, University of Maine, 1B, L/L

Round 15: Evan Gray, St. Louis University, P, R/R

Round 16: Tyler Switalski, West Virginia, P, R/L

Round 17: Hunter Dryden, Whitworth University, P, R/R

Round 18: Ryan Slater, Florida, P, R/R

Round 19: Ryan Ure, Oklahoma State, P, R/L

Round 20: Fernando Gonzalez, Georgia, Panama, C, R/R