The San Francisco Giants have put their top prospect, Bryce Eldridge, on the fast track through the 2024 season. At just 19-years-old, he’s already made it to Triple-A. Now, as he is up for Minor League Baseball Hitter of the Year, his focus is on next season. Not only is it about his 2025, but he is ready to focus on the side of the ball he isn’t known for: his defense.
In his first full season of professional ball, Eldridge made the move to first base. In his limited 2023 action, he spent most of his time in the right field, but moved to first full time in 2024. When he joined the “Giants Talk Podcast” from NBC Sports Bay Area, Eldridge brought up the need to improve defensively when asked what he learned from his season.
“Defense is going to be a huge thing going into next year — how good can I get there. I’m far from where I want to be on defense right now,” the youngster said.
The former first round pick had a .977 fielding percentage at first, but it’s his first season at the position, so growing pains are bound to happen.
While being so close to San Francisco in Sacramento, Eldridge was able to work with some coaches to work on his defense. He worked with fundamentals coach Jolbert Cabrera, Sacramento hitting coach Damon Minor and Ron Wouts, longtime Giants coach who is an infield instructor now.
Even though Minor is the hitting coach, he can still give valuable help for Eldridge in terms of defense. A former first baseman, he and the lefty have something in common: they’re both 6’7″. There aren’t many players who are that tall, and Minor can provide Eldridge with tips on how to play the position at that size.
On the other hand, Wotus wants to work on the basics, for now.
“We’re trying to get him a really good base with his legs. He’s tall and has a tendency to not get as wide. When he hits, he’s got a great base … we’re trying to get him a better base so he can explode better on his first step instead of being so narrow, so you want to be able to move right and left,” the coach said in an interview.
The fact that the first baseman was sent to Triple-A shows how much work San Francisco wants to get him. He will get a chance to continue playing in the Arizona Fall League when that begins, and Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area says he will be in Big League camp next year.
It’s been a whirlwind season for Eldridge, but he has been prepared for the challenge to prove he belongs.
“That’s going to be a big point in the offseason, to nail (that defense) down so I can be locked down over there in San Francisco, hopefully next year,” he said.
