Focused solely on 1B, Eldridge set for Spring Breakout

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PHOENIX -- It’s been less than a year since the Giants took Bryce Eldridge in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft, but the 19-year-old first baseman is already beginning to look like one of the most exciting picks of the Farhan Zaidi era.

Eldridge, the club’s No. 4 prospect, hit the ground running after making his professional debut last summer, slashing .294/.400/.505 with six home runs and 18 RBIs over 31 games between the Rookie-level ACL Giants and Single-A San Jose in 2023.

Giants fans will get an early look at Eldridge during MLB’s inaugural Spring Breakout, when the 6-foot-7 slugger is expected to anchor a next-gen lineup that will take on a team of A’s prospects in an exhibition game at Hohokam Stadium on March 15 at 4:05 p.m. PT.

“I think it’s really cool on MLB’s part to get together and make this a whole event for the prospects,” Eldridge said. “There’s a lot of guys out there that people don’t know about that are going to be on their TVs every day, and it’s cool to showcase that.

“The Giants, they’ve done a great job with their players. There’s a bunch of guys that are just going to ball throughout the season. You see it in the Top 100, you’ve got [three] in there. The future of this organization is going to be very bright.”

Leading the pack of hitting prospects is Eldridge, who was originally drafted as a two-way player but will now focus exclusively on first base moving forward.

Eldridge became known as “the American Ohtani” after starring as both a right-handed pitcher and a first baseman on the Virginia prep circuit, but he didn’t end up getting on the mound after receiving a $3,997,500 signing bonus from the Giants last year. Eldridge said it was difficult to give up the two-way dream, but he hopes sticking at first will ultimately help accelerate his path to the Majors.

“That was always a plan and a goal of mine that I had,” Eldridge said. “But it was definitely talked about a lot throughout the offseason. Looking at it now, I’m going to play to my strengths, and I think that’s my bat and playing first base. I’m looking forward to doing that.”

The Giants also gave 2022 first-round Draft pick Reggie Crawford a chance to pursue a two-way path last year, but Crawford acknowledged that it became too challenging to juggle the hitting and pitching workloads in the Minors. The Giants wanted no such obstacles for Eldridge, who they believe has a chance to develop into a special bat.

“I think, realistically, the biggest thing is not that he can’t pitch,” director of player development Kyle Haines said. “It’s that he’s really good as a hitter, and we don’t want anything to get in the way of the hitting development. High-school hitters have a tough time historically adjusting to the speed of the pro game, and he’s done a nice job so far of adjusting. But we really don’t want to have to worry about innings, a sore arm or things getting in the way of his at-bats or his adjustment to the hitting side. We’ll kind of see where it goes from there. The No. 1 thing for him is he just needs to get at-bats.”

Eldridge possesses immense raw power from the left side and said one of his goals is to keep slugging this year, especially after adding 10-15 pounds since turning pro.

“I like to have high expectations for myself,” Eldridge said. “I just want to keep up the home runs per at-bats. That’s what my game is going to be, hitting the ball out of the park. So consistently doing that throughout the year, trying not to have any spots where I go on streaks of not hitting any. I’m trying to stay as consistent as possible. Keep swinging at balls in the zone and keep dominating the zone.”

Eldridge is likely to return to Single-A San Jose for the start of the 2024 campaign and he said he’s looking forward to building on the success he enjoyed last season.

“I was happy with how it all went, obviously,” Eldridge said. “It’s a big jump going from playing in your high school state playoffs to going and jumping into a professional game, but I was happy with how I did. There’s always room for improvement. I’m looking to have another good year and keep making a name for myself out here.”