2024 SF Giants first-round pick and college teammate headline Eugene's Opening Day roster

Opening Day for the Eugene Emeralds is on Friday. On Monday, the initial roster was published, which features 2024 first-round pick James Tibbs III and reunites a pair of college teammates in Charlie Szykowny and Zane Zielinski.

2024 SF Giants first-round pick and college teammate headline Eugene's Opening Day roster

Tibbs III and Szykowny finished the year with Eugene last year, so they will be returning to that affiliate. In the case of Tibbs III, he only tallied 74 plate appearances before the season concluded.

The left-handed bat moved quickly through San Jose, posting a .941 OPS in 42 plate appearances. He struggled to the tune of a .455 OPS during his time with Eugene.

However, Tibbs III was likely dealing with fatigue, as he had already played a full season at Florida State University and tacked on 26 more games in pro ball. I do not typically put much weight into draft year pro stats.

On the other hand, Szykowny went on a tear with San Jose last year, leading to a promotion to Eugene. He registered a .235/.300/.379 line (91 wRC+) with four home runs and 18 RBI in 170 plate appearances with the Emeralds. The lefty bat does not flash much raw power, but he has has a good bat path along with quality contact skills to lift and pull the ball regularly.

The 24-year-old infield prospect will be sharing the left side of the infield with Zane Zielinski. Zielinski was drafted in the ninth round of last year's draft. He and Szykowny were college teammates at the University of Illinois - Chicago. Zielinski did not make his pro debut last year.

There are several other intriguing position players like Bo Davidson and Quinn McDaniel. Davidson was a pop-up prospect in the Giants' system last year. He recorded a 1.047 with nine home runs and 40 RBI in 226 plate appearances with the San Jose Giants. The outfield prospect was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute in 2023.

McDaniel offers some of the best power-speed combinations in the system. He is coming off a year in which he tallied a .735 OPS with 13 home runs and 40 stolen bases with Eugene. The Giants did experiment with him in the outfield.

On the pitching side, Josh Bostick and Cale Lansville will be a couple of names to watch. Bostick struck out 121 batters in 107.1 innings last year. He has a high 90's fastball with two distinct breaking balls and a changeup. Lansville was an Arizona Fall League All-Star after pitching to a 3.45 ERA in 15.2 frames with the Scottsdale Scorpions.