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SF Giants middle infielder earns Northwest Player of the Week honors, May 11 - 17

Another strong week
ByJeff Young|
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Apr 16, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; A view of San Francisco Giants game hats on the dugout steps during the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images
Apr 16, 2026; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; A view of San Francisco Giants game hats on the dugout steps during the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

For the second straight week, an SF Giants prospect has earned Player of the Week honors in the Northwest League. This time, it was middle infielder Zander Darby who was recognized for that distinction.

Gavin Kilen took home Player of the Week honors last week. In that week, the Eugene Emeralds notched four victories in a six-game series against the Vancouver Canadians.

They followed that up with a convincing series win against the Tri-City Dust Devils by winning five out of six games. They also became the first minor league team to reach 30 wins this year. 

With a 30 - 9 record, they lead the league by a wide margin. The Everett AquaSox are nine games game behind Eugene for second place.

SF Giants middle infielder prospect leases Emeralds to series victory

This should not be all that surprising. A lot of players on Eugene’s roster are from the 2025 San Jose Giants club that went on to win the California League.

Eugene has a talented roster, headlined by Kilen, Dakota Jordan, and Trevor Cohen. All three played have been top picks by the organization in recent years. However, Zander Darby had arguably been the Emeralds’ best hitter in 2026.

Darby does not have the draft pedigree to his name. He was a 12th-round pick out of UC Santa Barbara in 2024. He was a college teammate with top college pitching prospect Jackson Flora, who is viewed as a potential option for the Giants with the No. 4 pick.

Overall, Darby is hitting .355/.422/.603 (178 wRC+) with five home runs, 22 RBI, and 25 runs in 135 plate appearances this year. This does include a relatively high 28.1 percent strikeout rate. He does not hit for a lot of home run power, but has a pull-heavy swing that produces a lot of extra-base hits.

That was on display against Tri-City. Darby slashed .619/.680/.952 (336 wRC+) with five doubles, one triple, and seven RBI in 25 plate appearances for Eugene last week.

If Darby continues to put up strong numbers like this, he could position himself for a midseason promotion to Double-A. The Giants have already made a pair of quick promotions from Eugene this year by sending Jack Payton and Zane Zielinski to the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

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