SF Giants prospect predicted to be 'middle-order masher' for the team

SF Giants fans have plenty of reasons to be excited about their top prospect Bryce Eldridge. The publication Baseball America believes he could provide major thump in the middle of San Francisco’s order for years to come.

Baseball America, one of the top baseball prospect publications, posted about Eldridge and his potential on social media:

SF Giants top prospect Bryce Eldridge has huge potential

In the post, they write that Eldridge could debut in 2025 and,”When he arrives, he has the ceiling of a middle-order masher and a cornerstone of the Giants’ lineup for years to come.” They also rank him as the top first base prospect in all of baseball.

Those are some pretty high expectations for the young prospect, but they are understandable. The 20-year-old quickly made his way through the minor leagues in 2024, going from A-ball to Triple-A Sacramento by the end of the year. 

In 2024 across multiple minor league levels, Eldridge slashed .291/.374/.516 with 23 home runs and 92 RBI. He followed that up with a good showing in the Arizona Fall League, slashing .293/.348/.512 with two home runs and six RBI in 46 plate appearances. Those are impressive numbers and give one hope that he could be an effective hitter at the big league level.

It is not impossible that Eldridge could debut in 2025. Even though he is young, if he has another solid year in the minor leagues he could get called up late in the season so he can get his feet wet in the major leagues. 

The Giants are really counting on Eldridge to be their first baseman of the future. It seems like they are going to roll with Wilmer Flores and LaMonte Wade Jr. at first in 2025 as a sort of stopgap measure to let Eldridge get ready to potentially take the reins in 2026. They could still sign first baseman Pete Alonso in free agency, but a move like that seems unlikely since Alonso probably wants a contract for three years or more and the Giants would not be keen on blocking their top prospect.

However, president of baseball operations Buster Posey is probably not planning on rushing Eldridge to the big leagues. Because this is Posey's first year in his new role, he may not feel the pressure to rush up a prospect in an effort to save a season. One could argue that the Giants rushed up prospects Joey Bart and Marco Luciano during Farhan Zaidi's tenure which may have been detrimental to both of them. Do not expect Posey to call up Eldridge in May out of panic because the team is struggling to score runs.

In sum, Giants fans should be excited about Eldridge's potential to be a huge presence in the middle of the order for the Giants, but patience is also key. There is no need to rush him up too soon. Instead, the Giants should wait until he is ready so he can reach his full potential in the big leagues.