Eldridge makes loud statement in first Giants spring training game

Eldridge makes loud statement in first Giants spring training game originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SURPRISE, Ariz. — The Giants have tried their best over the past two weeks to slow the Bryce Eldridge Hype Train.

The organization’s top prospect is not a candidate to make the Opening Day roster, and behind the scenes, there are discussions about whether it makes sense to send him back to Double-A Richmond since he spent just nine games there last year before finishing up with eight in Triple-A. The defense at first base is a work in progress, and he is likely to mostly be a DH when he shows up in spring games.

The 20-year-old is not expected to be in big league camp for long before heading to the minor league facility a few miles away, and there are some within the organization who wish he were getting his reps in there already, away from the spotlight of the big league clubhouse. Giants officials hope Eldridge debuts later this year, but won’t commit to it.

Sometimes, though, a prospect is so talented that he forces the issue.

In his second at-bat in a spring training game, Eldridge hit a homer to dead center, sending a jolt through the dugout and announcing his arrival in the loudest possible way. The home run went an estimated 450 feet and left the bat at 110.4 mph. It was an absolute rocket, but the man who hit it wasn’t really able to give much of a description.

“I honestly blacked out for that whole thing,” Eldridge said, smiling. “I really don’t remember it. I remember looking at the outfielder and he was acting like he was going to catch it and I was like, ‘I think I got that one.’”

The homer nearly cleared the berm in center field, showing the power that has made Eldridge one of the sport’s top 20 prospects after just one full season in the minor leagues. Eldridge cannot legally order a drink yet, but he might have the most power in the organization. Last season, the Giants had just one home run that went at least 450 feet and had an exit velocity in excess of 110 mph, and the man who hit it, Jorge Soler, is long gone.

Eldridge struck out in his first at-bat and then fell behind 0-2 when he came up again in the ninth, swinging through one strike and taking another. He said he felt the game speed up on him the first time up, but with every pitch he saw Saturday, his heartbeat slowed. He kept telling himself to be short to the ball.

“I swung and missed on two fastballs in a row in back-to-back at-bats and in my head I was like, ‘It’s not happening a third time,’” Eldridge said. “I’m lucky I caught up to that one. The timing still feels a little bit off but I ran into the first one. It was good to get that out of the way.”

The first came with a large cheering section. Eldridge’s mom arrived in town from Virginia late this week and was able to watch, along with his aunt, cousins and agent. As Eldridge hustled back to the clubhouse to catch the bus back to Scottsdale, he laughed and said he couldn’t wait to grab his phone and see the reactions from his dad and brother.

It shouldn’t be long before the whole group is at Oracle Park, although the Giants will be as patient as they possibly can. They believe Eldridge is a franchise-altering hitter, and they want to make sure that when he’s called up, he is up for good.

The view internally is that his glove isn’t yet ready for the big leagues, although that’s not the 20-year-old’s fault. Drafted as a two-way player, he was moved to first base last spring, and a lot has been thrown at him over the past year. Eldridge has worked hard at the position and talks excitedly of all he can pick up this spring. For the next few days, he’ll learn from six-time Gold Glove Award winner J.T. Snow, in camp as a guest instructor.

As he gets more and more comfortable at first, Eldridge will continue to get chances to face big league-caliber pitching as a designated hitter or late-game replacement. The Giants will continue to try to pump the brakes, but that’ll get more and more difficult if Eldridge keeps showing that the bat is ready to attack Oracle Park’s dimensions.

“For a guy his age, he certainly looks very calm,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Two strikes, semi-trying to put the ball in play, and he hits it 40 feet over the center field fence. We’ve seen a lot of that in his at-bats in live (batting practice sessions) and BP. He just looks very hitter-ish all the time. It’s nice to see him get off to a good start after his first at-bat, hitting a home run like that. It makes you feel good and it makes you feel like you belong.”

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