Red Hot San Francisco Giants Slugger Named to Best Young Prospects List

The San Francisco Giants have at least one prospect that is shaping up to be a future star.

Joel Reuter of Bleacher Report put together a list of the 25 best prospects that are 20 years or younger and one member of the Giants farm system made the cut, first baseman Bryce Eldridge.

“An imposing 6’7″, 223-pound slugger who was one of the best two-way players in the 2023 draft class, Eldridge has turned his full attention to hitting in his first full professional season,” said Reuter. “He has only scratched the surface of what could be some of the best raw power of any prospect.”

The future San Francisco first baseman came in at No. 20 on the list and was the third-highest player at his position.

He was the No. 16 overall selection in the first round of the 2023 MLB draft and has proven to be a bit of a value. If the draft were to be redone today, he might go a few spots higher.

The 19-year-old could have been an elite player at either pitcher or in the field. His size is that of the modern day ideal pitching prospect with the tall and lanky guys Noah Schultz for the Chicago White Sox and Andrew Painter of the Philadelphia Phillies taking over.

Instead, he went the route of adding a bit of muscle and going to first base to develop his bat. As of now, that looks like it was a great decision.

He made it up to High-A earlier this season and has looked better than he has at any other stop. Over 41 games, he has a .309/.425/.510 slashing line.

The power has been there, a 17 home runs season over 92 games. That’s about the same pace as he was on last season.

If the Giants are smart, they’ll keep him around for the future rather than trading him to chase a quick World Series title.

As of right now, Eldridge is expected to make the jump to the big leagues around 2026. That would be perfect timing as that’s when current first baseman LaMonte Wade Jr. is expected to hit free agency.

Wade would be entering his age 32 season and will likely fetch a nice price tag if he continues his trajectory. Being able to stay at a lower price tag while building to the future will be nice.

That decision is down the road, though. For now, San Francisco needs to focus on continuing to develop his bat.