SAN FRANCISCO — During the final homestand at Oracle Park, the lower deck was dotted with No. 78 jerseys, which will become a throwback next spring when Bryce Eldridge is given a much lower number. But those weren’t the only souvenirs from the 20-year-old’s two-week cameo in the big leagues.
Eldridge picked up his first big league hit, and his mom even managed to snag a Matt Chapman foul ball while watching a game at Dodger Stadium. There were a lot of lessons that the organization’s top prospect will take away from September, too.
“You’ve got to make adjustments at this level,” he said on the final day of the season. “I’m just excited that I got the opportunity. I love the fact that I got that out of the way going into next year. I know the things I’ve got to work on. I’m just excited and looking forward to next year and continuing to have a bigger role on this team.”
The Giants never intended to have Eldridge get his feet wet in September, but when Dominic Smith went down with the team still fighting for a Wild Card spot, Buster Posey made the move in hopes that it could provide a jolt down the stretch. Eldridge ended up getting 37 plate appearances over 10 games, showing why he’s potentially a franchise-altering hitter and also what he has to work on.
Eldridge finished with just three hits, but when he made contact, he showed his elite power. He had an average exit velocity of 95.6 mph, a tick above Aaron Judge, who led qualified big leaguers at 95.4 mph. In a small sample, Eldridge also posted what would have been the league’s best hard-hit percentage. He was at 68.8 percent, well ahead of Kyle Schwarber’s 59.6 percent. His expected slugging percentage would have been a top 20 figure in the league over a full season.
That power was there throughout his Triple-A season, too, but Eldridge also had a high strikeout rate, which is one reason the Giants were holding him back all summer. That showed in the big leagues, too. His 35.1 percent strikeout rate would be the highest in the big leagues over a full season. He did, however, counter that with a high walk rate.
Add it up and it’s about exactly what was expected given his age and lack of experience. When Eldridge makes contact, it’s special … but he certainly has work to do in terms of limiting strikeouts.
“I think it’s kind of what we anticipated we might see,” president of baseball operations Buster Posey said on Giants Talk. “You could see some swing and miss, he hit the ball hard. I was impressed at some of his takes. I thought he did a nice job against some really tough pitchers. It’s a big jump. It’s a big jump from Triple-A to the big leagues for a lot of different reasons and one is the quality of arms that you’re seeing every day and every night, starting pitching and relief pitching. There were some takes against (Yoshinobu) Yamamoto that were balls just under the zone that he did a nice job with.
“It’s exciting to have a guy that you know there’s tremendous upside. I know he knows and we all know there’s a lot of room for growth still and we’re excited to keep watching that.”
The call-up put Eldridge on the 40-man roster, eliminating one hurdle to having him on the Opening Day roster next season. But the Giants haven’t committed to anything for 2026, at least publicly.
Eldridge showed he’s more comfortable at first than he was earlier in the year, but if the front office wants him to get a bit more seasoning on that side and continue to work on his approach in Triple-A, there’s an avenue to do that. Rafael Devers likely will be the primary first baseman next year, anyway. There’s some interest in a reunion with Smith, although that’s likely far-fetched given that the roster will at some point have two left-handed first base/DH types in Devers and Eldridge.
Given how much they have to do on the pitching side, the Giants could also go into the offseason with a plan to start Eldridge in the big leagues next year no matter what. A midseason injury limited him a bit in Triple-A, but he got a taste of MLB pitching late in the year and can work on adjustments all spring. That would set him up for an early matchup with Judge, a fellow 6-foot-7 hitter, and give him another chance to get one more milestone out of the way in a big game. The Giants open 2026 on national television against the New York Yankees.
Eldridge came a few feet short of picking up his first homer at Dodger Stadium. He didn’t get that first homer at Oracle Park over the final week, but he said that’s one part of the late-season cameo that wasn’t stressing him out.
“It’ll come when it comes. I’m not worried about it,” he said. “I think there will be plenty of them in my career. I just have to wait a little bit longer, but it’s not a big deal.”
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