SF Giants seemingly unclear on best course of action for Bryce Eldridge

Probably the biggest question for the SF Giants entering spring training has to do with top prospect Bryce Eldridge and whether he will make the Opening Day roster. It seems like there is some uncertainty within the organization on the best way to handle him

According to Giants insider Alex Pavlovic in a recent article, “There's a camp within the organization that would prefer [Eldridge] gets more time in Triple-A.” 

SF Giants reportedly uncertain of path with Bryce Eldridge

It’s not hard to understand that viewpoint. The 21-year-old prospect had a brief stint with the Giants last season and only had three hits in 28 at-bats with 13 strikeouts. It was a small sample size, but it did not exactly scream that the guy is going to set the world on fire in 2026.

He’s still so young and it is easy to forget that he has had a meteoric rise through the minors. In fact, some outside observers have been baffled by the way the Giants have handled Eldridge’s development thus far.

In Triple-A last season Eldridge slashed .249/.322/.514 with 18 home runs and 63 runs batted in. Those are solid numbers and his power was undeniably impressive, but it’s not like he was absolutely dominant against Triple-A pitching and the Pacific Coast League is notoriously hitter-friendly.

It’s important to remember that the main reason Eldridge got called up at the end of last season is not because he had become undeniable at the plate in Sacramento, but instead an injury to Dominic Smith created a roster opening for the prospect. 

Inevitably, there will be a lot of fans clamoring for Eldridge to make the roster especially if he has a strong spring training. He’s an exciting talent with a ton of potential so naturally fans want to see what he can do for the team in the big leagues.

Yet, patience may prove to be the best strategy with Eldridge. It is probably wiser to start him off in Triple-A this season and let him get hot down there before promoting him. That’s exactly what the Giants did with Buster Posey in 2010 after his brief stint with the team at the end of 2009 and that seemed to work out pretty well.

The Giants will be fine with Rafael Devers at first base to begin the year and they can also use Casey Schmitt at first base and put Devers in the designated hitter spot if the left-handed slugger needs a rest from the field. Starting Eldridge off in Triple-A also has the added benefit of allowing the Giants to keep either Luis Matos or Jerar Encarnacion on the roster to begin the season. Both are out of minor league options so they likely wouldn’t have room for either of them if Eldridge made the team.

We will see what approach the Giants end up taking with Eldridge, but patience is probably the best approach especially after some recent top prospects were arguably not given ample time to develop in the minors.