San Francisco Giants Top Prospect Improving Defense With Help From 'First Base Guru'

The San Francisco Giants called in reinforcements to help their top prospect become an MLB-ready defender at first base.

Jul 26, 2023; San Francisco, California, USA; San Francisco Giants 2023 first round draft pick Bryce Eldridge poses for a photo before the game against the Oakland Athletics at Oracle Park. / Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

The San Francisco Giants have had plenty of guest instructors stop by their spring camp.

However, there is one that will prove to be the most beneficial for their top prospect.

Bryce Eldridge is the No. 1 prospect in the Giants organization. There is a lot to like about the first baseman, especially when it comes to his hitting.

The slugger played 116 games across four levels in the minor leagues last season. In those games, he slashed .291/.374/.516 with 23 home runs, 92 RBI, 76 runs scored and 59 walks.

In the eyes of San Francisco, Eldridge is ready to hit at the big league level.

In fact, the former first-round pick was given an invite to spring training because of his bat. He is not hitting as well as he has shown in the minor leagues, but he did launch a home run in one of his at-bats.

The one flaw in Eldridge's game is his defense.

The 20-year-old started 100 games at first base in 2024, but he made 18 total errors. That gave him a fielding percentage of .977. His swing might be MLB-ready, but the defensive play is holding him back.

To help him out, San Francisco has brought in one of the best defensive first basemen in the history of their team; J.T. Snow.

He played 15 seasons in the big leagues, nine of them being with the Giants. First base was the only position he played. In his career, the University of Arizona product made just 63 total errors, giving him a lifetime fielding percentage of .995.

Snow won six-straight Gold Glove Awards at first base. Four of those came when he was with San Francisco.

The Giants gave him an invite to be a guest instructor at spring training with the hopes he can teach Eldridge how to become a better defender.

Eldridge is aware of his defensive struggles, so he is open to all the help he can get.

“That’s all I’ve heard, that he’s a first base guru. That’s something I could really use in my life right now," Eldridge said while speaking with Maria Guardado of MLB.com.

Since Snow has arrived, he has been spending a lot of his time teaching the top prospect, including early work every morning.

This is something Eldridge has been appreciative of.

“Obviously, he’s super knowledgeable over there. It’s something that’s been super helpful for me this past week. I’ve learned a lot just with him being here and how he goes about his routines and all that. He’s a great guy. Me and him get along well. He’s great at explaining his mindset and his thinking process over there, so it’s been good," Eldridge said.

The Virginia native still has a lot to learn at the position, but he is slowly becoming better with his glove. He was not much of a first baseman before he was drafted, so it is a new experience. Growing pains are expected.

“He’s kind of like a clean slate, which is good. You can kind of mold him and get him to do things. Maybe he doesn’t have any bad habits yet. If someone already has some bad habits, you have to break those. He doesn’t have any of those, so you can look at that as a positive," Snow told Guardado about the 6-foot-7 top prospect.

It would be shocking to see Eldridge make his debut in 2025.

He has made progress defensively, but he is not quite ready to man the position at Oracle Park just yet.

However, with the help of Snow, he should be able to show a lot of growth defensively this upcoming season.

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