SF Giants prospect predicted to break Barry Bonds home run curse

There is a lot of hype surrounding top SF Giants prospect Bryce Eldridge. Many consider him the team's best offensive prospect since Buster Posey, and one writer thinks he could be the first Giant to hit 40 home runs since Barry Bonds.

Jim Callis, a senior writer for MLB.com, recently sang the praises of Eldridge on MLB Network. The full clip discussing Eldridge can be viewed here.

Bryce Eldridge predicted to be a 40 home run hitter for SF Giants

After briefly going over Eldridge's rapid rise through the minors last season, ultimately making it to Triple-A Sacramento, Callis said,"This guy's got massive power. The bat speed, the leverage. He hits the ball so hard...This is a future 40 home run guy who got to Triple-A at age 19, his power is crazy."

That is a pretty ringing endorsement from Callis. It is certainly easy to get excited about Eldridge after the impressive 2024 season he put together in the minor leagues. Combining his overall stats across multiple levels, he slashed .292/.374/.516 with 23 home runs and 92 RBI. The fact that he is only 20 years old makes the hype surrounding him even greater. Other prospect ranking publications have been effusive in their praise as well.

Predicting Eldridge to hit 40 home runs in a season is pretty bold considering he is likely to start his big league career with Oracle Park as his home ballpark. While Barry Bonds certainly did not struggle with hitting homers in the ballpark, left-handed hitters have typically not had it easy at Oracle.

Speaking of Bonds, the Giants have not had a player hit 30 home runs in a season since Bonds did it in 2004 with 45. Perhaps because Giants fans were so spoiled with Bonds' unreal power all those years we have had to endure this relative power drought for the past 20 years. Eldridge could be the guy to come along and break that curse.

Do not expect Eldridge to hit 40 dingers for the Giants in 2025, though. Manager Bob Melvin recently made clear, as has president of baseball operations Buster Posey, that they view 2025 as a year in which Eldridge will start in the minors and try to prove he can dominate at the plate while at the same time improving with his defense at first base.

Of course, if he is tearing it up and the Giants' offense is struggling we may end up seeing him on the big league roster at some point in 2025, but it may take some time.

The bold prediction made by Callis certainly makes one excited about Eldridge, but we know that predictions can be wrong and prospects can flame out. Let's hope that all the hype Eldridge is getting is accurate and he does end up being a huge bat for the Giants.