SF Giants Player Review 2026: Scott Bandura showed promise but may get lost in the shuffle

Today our SF Giants 2026 Player Review series continues with rookie outfielder Scott Bandura. We most recently looked back on Patrick Bailey’s rough year with San Francisco at the plate but Bandura did some interesting things after getting called up by the Giants.

Bandura started the year with Double-A Richmond but quickly earned himself a promotion to Triple-A Sacramento. He hit an impressive .324/.430/.479 with three homers and 32 runs batted in for the Flying Squirrels and really didn’t take his foot off the gas after being promoted to Triple-A.

With the River Cats Bandura hit .318/.398/.492 with 10 home runs and 62 runs batted in. He seemed like a guy who would eventually be called up especially after the team traded away Heliot Ramos at the deadline and had so many injuries and he eventually got his shot when he was called up on September 13. Certainly he performed well enough to be called up, but he also would have had to be added to the 40-man roster to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft although with the looming lockout there is no guarantee the Rule 5 draft will take place.

Bandura's numbers with the Giants after being promoted weren’t exceptional as he hit .207/.233/.241 with one RBI and one stolen base in two attempts. What was especially troubling was the fact that he struck out 17 times in 29 at-bats and only drew one walk so it seems pretty clear that he was outmatched by big league pitching.

Scott Bandura will have to compete with a lot of other outfielders

That’s to be expected from a young player, but with how many outfielders are in the mix for San Francisco it’s very easy to see Bandura getting lost in the shuffle. So many young outfielders showed promise in 2026, whether it was Drew Gilbert, Jonah Cox, Victor Bericoto, Turner Hill, or Bo Davidson.

The Giants obviously won’t have room for all of those players on the roster next season and Bandura didn’t really do enough to make one think he will be a major factor next season. Yet, there’s always a chance he gets hot in spring training or in the minors next season and his second big league season is better than his first. He need only look to Gilbert as an example of a guy who took a big step forward in his second big league season. 

San Francisco has a lot of young outfielders and there’s a good chance they will lean on them heavily next year since the offseason focus will likely be all on pitching. Bandura has a chance to factor into the equation, but he has to look more like the guy we saw in the minors this year. 

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