Fast-Rising San Francisco Giants Prospect Rockets into Top 100

The meteoric rise of San Francisco Giants prospect Bryce Eldridge continued as another service moved him to Top 100 prospect status.

Jul 26, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants general manager Pete Putila, first round draft pick Bryce Eldridge, and president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi pose for a photo before the game against the Oakland Athletics at Oracle Park. / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

It’s been a great few days for San Francisco Giants first base prospect Bryce Eldridge, the latest honor being a move into Baseball America’s Top 100 prospects for September.

While Eldridge was a member of MLB Pipeline's Top 100 last month, he didn't make the cut in Baseball America's Top 100 when the site re-ranked in August after the MLB draft.

It’s been a great season for the 19-year-old, as he played in the MLB Futures Game in July and was just promoted to Double-A Richmond, where he’ll play the rest of the minor league season close to his boyhood home in Vienna, Va.

Now, he’s Baseball America’s No. 37 prospect. He is the only Top 100 Giants prospect in this ranking.

Richmond is his third affiliate this season, as he started at Class-A San Jose and he quickly earned a promotion from High-A Eugene. After his Richmond debut, he slashed .294/.378/.538/.916 with 22 home runs and 86 RBI.

Eldridge had the highest OPS among any minor leaguers in August (1.232) and started September by hitting his 22nd home run. It was his fifth home run in his last six games.

With San Jose he slashed .263/.323/.478/.801 with 10 home runs and 45 RBI in 51 games before his promotion on June 27.

He improved those numbers with Eugene, as he slashed .335/.442/.618/1.060 with 12 home runs and 41 RBI in 45 games.

In fact, his time at Eugene was some of the best minor league hitting in the last 18 years, according to Baseball America. Eldridge's 185 wRC+ (Weighted Runs Created Plus) was the third highest for a 19-year-old at High-A, with a minimum of 150 plate appearances, since 2006.

Among the players to include that are current No. 1 prospect Junior Caminero, along with current Major Leaguers like Vladimir Gurerrero Jr. and Giancarlo Stanton, who are behind Eldridge.

After the Giants drafted him No. 16 overall last year he signed for $4 million and opted not to play baseball at Alabama. Instead, he reported to the Giants and played 31 games with the Arizona Complex League Giants and the Class-A San Jose Giants. He batted a combined .294/.400/.505/.905 with six home runs and 18 RBI.

At the MLB Futures Game, Eldridge said that he’s spent this season focused on extending his range while fielding first base and improving his plate coverage as a left-handed hitter. He’s put an emphasis on getting better at hitting change-ups from right-handers.

He started for the NL Futures team and batted cleanup. He made two plate appearances, as he struck out in the second, singled in the fourth and later scored. The NL went on to win the game, 6-1.