Down on the Farm: 7/16/2025

There were no Giants affiliated minor league teams in action today.

Exciting news that Bo Davidson OF and Scott Bandura OF were promoted from A+ Eugene to AA Richmond and Jakob Christian OF/1B was promoted from A San Jose to A+ Eugene.  

Davidson and Bandura are both feel-good stories for different reasons.  Bo was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2023 after a Giants scout discovered him while scouting another player at tiny Caldwell Community College and Technical Institutes in North Carolina.  He has performed well at every pro assignment so far.  He batted .286/397/.469 in the ACL in 2023.  Then .328/.438/.608 for A San Jose in 2024.  I saw him play for San Jose and he more than passed the eye test for a legit MLB prospect:  Almost ideal size, athleticism, easy fluidity to his movements and absolutely barreled up everything the times I saw him.  He was rewarded with a Arizona Fall League assignment and slashed .283/.362/.433 there.  He continued to mash in A+ ball this season with a .309/.412/.507, 6 triples, 10 HR, 12 SB in 335 PA.  He's shown tremendous plate discipline with a 14.6 BB% while keeping his K% reasonable at 22%.  Talk about The Natural!  This guy has made it look easy so far with solid analytical numbers to back it up.   AA in general and the Eastern League in particular is a major challenge.  At the least, he's getting a preview and head start on his expected level for next season.

Once upon a time, Scott Bandura was the little league catcher for Mo' ne Davis, the sensational girl pitcher of Little League World Series fame.  In fact, it was Scott's father, Steve Bandura, who discovered Mo'ne's unusual athletic prowess at the Marian Anderson Recreation Center where he was the manager of the center's youth baseball team and saw her throwing a football in a tight spiral.  After the Little League World Series experience, Scott Bandura eventually found his way to Princeton U where he played collegiate baseball.  Scott says his goal was always to play professional baseball but chose Princeton because it offered the best back up plan if baseball didn't work out.

Scott was drafted in the 7'th round of the 2023 draft by the Giants.  After 15 AB's in he ACL he quickly moved up to A San Jose and put up a line of .241/.364/.405.  He returned to San Jose in 2024 and batted .276/.389/.362.  I saw him play for San Jose that season.  He is a little taller, but leaner than Bo Davidson with maybe less fluidity to his movement.  Still, he looked athletic and with a projectable frame.  He moved up to A+ Eugene in 2024 with a .227/.332/374 line but with 6 HR and 19 SB.  Back in Eugene for 2025 he improved on those numbers significantly with a .307/.399/.439 with 7 HR and 30 SB.  So both his power and speed are developing.  It's a great opportunity for him to also get a head start on his expected 2025 AA assignment.  

Jakob Christian was drafted by the Giants in the 5'th round of last year's draft out of University of San Diego.  He is a tall, rawboned OF/1B who physically reminds me of Giants hitting coach and former player, Pat "The Bat" Burrell.  Christian got into just 9 games with San Jose after the draft last season and batted .267 with a HR.  This season he has performed consistently with a .272/.355/.460, 10 HR, 12 SB.  He certainly has the raw tools to be an impact hitter if he continues to develop.