Another Bonds is kicking off his career with the Giants

This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado’s Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Peyton Bonds descends from a line of baseball greats.

His grandfather, Bobby Bonds, was a three-time All-Star who was known for his rare blend of power and speed. His uncle, Barry Bonds, is Major League Baseball’s all-time home run king. His dad, Bobby Bonds II, was drafted by the Padres and played 11 seasons of professional baseball.

Peyton is now keeping the family tradition going by beginning his own chapter with the Giants, who selected the 21-year-old outfielder in the third round of the 2026 MLB Draft out of Rutgers.

“I love it,” Peyton said. “It's a blessing having the family bloodline in this organization and being able to continue that. It's really cool.”

While his grandfather and uncle both emerged as generational talents in San Francisco, Peyton earned his opportunity with the Giants based on his own merit, not his famous last name. He slashed .352/.436/.535 with six home runs and 13 stolen bases over 36 games before a hamstring injury cut his junior season short at Rutgers.

The Giants had been keeping tabs on the 6-foot-5, 230-pound Bonds for a while, as they got plenty of extra looks at him while scouting his Rutgers teammate Trevor Cohen (San Francisco's No. 14 prospect per MLB Pipeline), whom they took in the third round of the 2025 MLB Draft.

“We drafted [Bonds] because of his ability and what we believe in him,” senior director of amateur scouting Michael Holmes said in July. “Just a real unique talent. Super strong, athletic, super high exit velocities off the bat. We think there are some things we can do with the swing to help him elevate the baseball a little bit. You get an athlete in the middle of the diamond, center field, hits the ball hard, it’s a real good starter kit. He’s a Giant because of Peyton Bonds.”

“I think it's awesome,” Bonds said. “It just goes to show that they believe in me as a player and what they think I can be as a player. I think when you have people that believe in you like that, it just pushes you to want to work even harder.”

Bonds made his pro debut with Single-A San Jose last month, going 4-for-14 with two RBIs over his first three games. Now ranked the Giants’ No. 22 prospect per MLB Pipeline, Bonds said he’s been working on creating routines to help ease his transition from college ball to the pros this summer.

“I think the biggest thing is just honing in and growing all my tools,” Bonds said. “I think I can be a five-tool player in this game, and so it's just a matter of putting in the work day in and day out and getting better at every part of my game.”

Bonds grew up in New Jersey and was 2 years old when Barry played his final season with the Giants in 2007, so he doesn’t have a ton of memories of watching his uncle star in the big leagues.

Still, he credits his uncle and his father for teaching him about the mental side of the game and instilling a strong work ethic that he hopes will allow him to carry on the Bonds legacy in San Francisco someday.

“There's a lot of knowledge that's been passed down from [Barry], my dad and that side of the family,” Bonds said. “There's a lot to learn from them. I've been blessed and fortunate to be able to do that with them growing up.”