Eldridge continues to make the leap in Giants' system

This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado’s Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SAN FRANCISCO -- The Giants’ No. 1 prospect is now one step closer to the big leagues.

Bryce Eldridge the club’s 2023 first-round Draft pick, earned a promotion to Double-A Richmond on Tuesday, capping a hugely successful season for the 19-year-old first baseman.

Eldridge (MLB Pipeline's No. 52 overall prospect) opened the year at Single-A San Jose before being moved up to High-A Eugene in late June. He didn’t stop raking once he joined the Emeralds, batting .335 with a 1.060 OPS and 12 home runs over 48 games.

“I think I’ve just kind of solidified my approach,” Eldridge said during an MLB Network appearance on Wednesday. “I think I’ve gotten better throughout the year as I’ve gone up levels. The better competition I’ve played, the better I’ve gotten. Just being able to stick to my approach, not get out of my zone and try to hit pitches that I can crush has been really working out for me.”

According to Baseball America, Eldridge posted the third-highest wRC+ (185) among 19-year-olds with a minimum of 150 plate appearances at High-A since 2006, trailing only Rays infielder Junior Caminero -- MLB Pipeline’s No. 1 overall prospect -- and former Yankees and Mariners catcher Jesus Montero. Eldridge crushed five homers over his final six games at Eugene, earning Northwest League Player of the Week honors for Aug. 26-Sept. 1.

The bigger reward for Eldridge will be having a chance to close out his first full professional season at Richmond, which is only a two-hour drive away from his hometown of Vienna, Va. Eldridge went 0-for-3 in his Double-A debut on Tuesday night, but he became the second-youngest player in Flying Squirrels history.

Richmond has only 11 games left to play this month, but Eldridge’s late promotion will likely set him up to return to Double-A for the start of the 2025 campaign. Given his current trajectory, it’s not hard to envision the 6-foot-7 slugger potentially breaking into the big leagues as soon as next season, giving the Giants the type of impact bat they’ve long struggled to develop.

Eldridge already has a fan in Giants legend and current special assistant to the front office Will Clark, who got a chance to spend time with the promising teen while visiting the Giants’ affiliates in San Jose and Eugene earlier this year.

“I think it’s incredible,” Clark said of Eldridge’s quick rise. “He’s 19. First full year in pro ball, first full year of playing every day. That in itself is kind of tough, because in high school you don’t play every day, so there’s a lot of firsts for him this year. To have the success that he had and to move up the levels that he’s moved up, I’m really proud of him.”