Who is the 12th-best prospect on the Giants farm?
Note: Today is nomination day! Head to the comment section to write in your nominations for the next CPL, and click on the “REC” button to cast votes.
The 2025 Willie McCovey Memorial Community Prospect List marches on, as we rank the top 44 prospects in the San Francisco Giants organization. And today we see a trend with the number “1.” Our No. 1 prospect was the clear-cut best story on the farm in 2024, Bryce Eldridge. And our No. 11 prospect? Well, it’s the clear-cut second-best story on the farm in 2024, as outfielder Bo Davidson has been voted the 11th-best prospect in the system, after being unranked (and un-noted) in the CPL last year.
Davidson’s season was nothing short of brilliant. The left-handed hitter, who went undrafted in 2023, thoroughly dominated the California League with Low-A San Jose, hitting .328/.438/.608, for a 173 wRC+ that was tops among 143 prospects in the Cal League (minimum: 100 plate appearances). But even those gaudy numbers underscore his performance, as he made adjustments and improvements.
In late May, Davidson was sidelined by an injury. He returned in July in the Arizona Complex League, rehabbed for a while, and went back to San Jose around the All-Star break. And from then until the end of the season, he hit a truly absurd 40-91 with seven home runs, five triples, eight doubles, and 23 walks against 23 strikeouts. The Giants rewarded him with a trip to the Arizona Fall League, where he hit .283/.362/.433 against more advanced pitching.
While Davidson is far from the first unheralded prospect to put up eye-popping numbers in the lower Minors, it’s worth noting that many of the cautionary flags that typically accompany such performances are absent for him. For starters, he’s much younger than the average late-round/undrafted position player, as he only turned 22 in July, so he’s playing at age appropriate levels: he was a hair younger than the average hitter in the Cal League this year. And his offensive success doesn’t come with the red flags associated with beating up on lower-level pitchers: his strikeout rate (23.9%) wasn’t very scary, and his batted ball data was quite encouraging.
Davidson is also one of the organization’s best athletes. He only stole seven bases this year, but that number should climb, and he spent much of the season in center field. He has a great arm, so even if he moves to a corner he could potentially be an above-average defensive player.
In short, Davidson passed the 2024 test with not just flying colors, but record scores. And now we get the excitement of seeing if he can maintain that performance against better competition, or if he runs into a wall. He’ll almost surely begin the year in High-A, but if he can stay healthy and keep hitting, don’t be surprised if he ends it in AA.
Now let’s add to the list, and don’t forget to head to the comments, because it’s nomination day!
The list so far
- Bryce Eldridge — 1B
- Carson Whisenhunt — LHP
- James Tibbs III — OF
- Rayner Arias — OF
- Josuar de Jesus González — SS
- Jhonny Level — SS
- Mason Black — RHP
- Dakota Jordan — OF
- Joe Whitman — LHP
- Reggie Crawford — LHP
- Bo Davidson — OF
Note: Clicking on the above names will link to the CPL where they were voted onto the list.
No. 12 prospect nominees
Aeverson Arteaga — 21.8-year old SS — .531 OPS/58 wRC+ in High-A (94 PA)
Walker Martin — 20.9-year old SS — .691 OPS/96 wRC+ in Low-A (123 PA); .795 OPS/115 wRC+ in ACL (189 PA)
Wade Meckler — 24.7-year old OF — .866 OPS/113 wRC+ in AAA (196 PA)
Carson Ragsdale — 26.6-year old RHP — 5.03 ERA/5.64 FIP in AAA (53.2 IP); 3.49 ERA/3.92 FIP in AA (67 IP)
Note: Each player’s first name links to their Baseball-Reference page, and their last name links to their Fangraphs page. All stats are from the 2024 season.