Bryce Eldridge has already given the Giants plenty to like in his first big-league run. The 21-year-old has shown the left-handed pop that made him such an exciting part of San Francisco’s youth movement, and he’s flashed enough to make it easy to picture him sending balls into McCovey’s Cove for years.
The rookie has split his time this season between first base and designated hitter, and the production has been solid across the board. In 331 at-bats, Eldridge is hitting .264 with 15 home runs, 43 RBI, 47 walks and an .804 OPS.
He got off to a fast start after his May call-up, and his year has included a walk-off grand slam. There’s also a clear path toward the role currently occupied by veteran Rafael Devers.
Still, the finish line matters. Eldridge has stumbled some late in the season, and September gives him a chance to sharpen the impression he’s already made.
He won’t be in the thick of the National League Rookie of the Year race the way the St. Louis Cardinals’ JJ Wetherholt or the Cincinnati Reds’ Sal Stewart might be, but the ceiling here is obvious.
If he closes strong, it only boosts how he’s viewed going into Year 2.
The goals are straightforward: a .270 average, 25 homers and more than 50 RBI. Those marks are within reach, but only if he keeps producing day after day.
One area Eldridge has been working on is handling the inside fastball. Back in July, he called that an “extra-credit” project, and he laid out the work he’s been putting in.
“I work on it on the tee and in flips. I work on covering anything, but let the game and results tell me what I need to work on more," Eldridge stated, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. "Recently I've been feeling that more, not being able to stay inside those inside pitches."
The Giants made Eldridge the 16th overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, and he’s already shown enough in his rookie year to prove he can hit. What September offers is something a little different: a chance to make his power and plate discipline look less like promise and more like a fixture. That’s how he starts to lock himself in as one of the foundation pieces for San Francisco’s next team.
In Other News...
Giants Just Sent Another Clear Message About Drew Gilbert
Drew Gilbert is getting another opportunity to set the tone for the Giants, and this time the club is also giving him a different defensive look. San Francisco kept him in the leadoff spot for its game against the Pirates while shifting him from center field to right field, part of a lineup shuffle that also sends Jonah Cox to the cleanup spot and puts Andrew Knizner behind the plate.
The changes fit a team that is trying to ride its previous win over Pittsburgh into a series victory. For Gilbert, the combination of top-of-the-order responsibility and a new outfield assignment suggests the Giants are still sorting out where he fits best, while also trusting him to stay in a prominent role as the lineup continues to evolve. [Read more 🡒]
Giants Are Betting Their Outfield Future On One Risky Choice
With Heliot Ramos traded and Harrison Bader battling an injury, the Giants have opened the door for a different kind of outfield plan. Turner Hill, Drew Gilbert and Jonah Cox are among the younger players now in position to show what they can handle, and that sort of internal audition matters for a club trying to map out its next few seasons without leaning too heavily on the open market.
The organization also has more outfield talent coming through the minors, which helps explain why it may be more willing to wait on its own players than chase an expensive corner bat. It is a sensible long-view approach, but it also puts real pressure on the next wave to turn opportunity into production, because the Giants seem intent on letting their future sort itself out from within. [Read more 🡒]
Yunior Marte's Giants Audition Suddenly Means More Than Just Innings
Yunior Martes path to the Giants has moved faster than anyone could have expected when he was still in Double-A, but injuries and roster needs forced the organization to bring him up and give him a look in the majors. His first big league start arrived quickly, and it came with a little extra attention too, as broadcasters pointed to similarities in body type and pitching style between Marte and former Giant Guillermo Mota, a comparison that at least gives San Francisco a familiar reference point for the kind of arm it may have in its system.
For the Giants, though, this is about more than covering innings in the moment. Martes stint is now part of a broader evaluation of where he fits going forward, including whether he needs to be protected from the Rule 5 Draft and whether he can work his way into future plans beyond this emergency opportunity. A call-up that began as a roster fix has suddenly turned into a meaningful test of just how much the club believes in what it has seen so far. [Read more 🡒]