Ex-SF Giants prospect tearing it up for Dodgers could turn Devers trade into disaster

The SF Giants are off to a rough start this season, and to make matters worse a former top Giants prospect is currently tearing it up in the Los Angeles Dodgers organization. That’s right, James Tibbs III is on a tear in Triple-A and it would not be a shock if the Dodgers called him up soon.

So far in Oklahoma City, Tibbs is hitting .474/.535/1.184 with seven home runs and 13 runs driven in. He’s red-hot and if he does end up making his big league debut with the Dodgers soon and starts tearing it up for Los Angeles, then the Rafael Devers trade may start to look quite a bit different for Giants fans.

James Tibbs’ heater could end up making the Devers trade look bad for the Giants

For those who need a refresher, Tibbs was drafted by the Giants in the first round of the 2024 MLB draft out of Florida State. Then, the Giants traded Tibbs, Kyle Harrison, Jordan Hicks, and Jose Bello to the Boston Red Sox last June in exchange for Devers. 

Since then, Tibbs was traded from Boston to the Dodgers in a move that had Farhan Zaidi’s fingerprints all over it since he was the man responsible for drafting Tibbs in 2024.

Tibbs was solid but not exceptional in Double-A for the Dodgers last season. He slashed .269/.407/.493 with seven homers and 32 runs driven in. 

It looks like this might be the year he takes a big step forward and breaks out, though. He foreshadowed a future in which he will terrorize the Giants back in spring training as he had a really good game against San Francisco, and it seems like that day may come much sooner than many thought.

Tibbs can play first base and the outfield, so he profiles as a sort of Cody Bellinger type of player although he is not as tall and may not have as much power. He can clearly hit though, so it would really not be a shock if he becomes a thorn in San Francisco’s side for years especially with how well the Dodgers develop their young players.

Given how Rafael Devers is doing right now for the Giants, hitting .190 on the season after a decent but not great showing for the Giants last season, and with how solid Kyle Harrison has looked so far with the Milwaukee Brewers after being traded to them by Boston, there will probably be more and more fans questioning the wisdom of the Devers trade.

Devers is going to be in San Francisco for years and Harrison and Tibbs figure to have long careers ahead of them so we have to wait to reserve final judgment for quite a while, but it is still notable, and rather scary, that Tibbs is looking like a real weapon for the Dodgers.