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San Francisco Giants Top Prospect Makes Loud Announcement in First Appearance

San Francisco Giants No. 1 prospect made a splash in his first plate appearance with Double-A Richmond following successful rehab for a wrist injury.

Maddy Hudak

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The San Francisco Giants have a lot to be excited about with their No. 1 prospect, who made his season debut with Double-A Richmond on Tuesday.

Giants top prospect Bryce Eldridge opened the second inning with a splash in his first at-bat of the year.

The first baseman homered a hanging breaking ball that soared over the right-center field wall to put the Flying Squirrels on the board.

It’s an encouraging sight for the slugger San Francisco used their top pick on in the 2023 MLB draft.

Eldridge was the consecutive two-way player that the Giants selected in the first round after taking Reggie Crawford the year prior.

Now settled in at first base, Eldridge is the No. 22 prospect in the MLB, which is the second highest at the position.

His debut this year wasn’t a given after inflammation in his wrist caused an injury battle through spring training in March, where Eldridge hit a homer in his second at bat.

Eldridge began at Single-A San Jose and advanced through all levels in 2024 to Triple-A Sacramento. In his first season, Eldridge slashed .291/.374/.516 through 446 at bats with 23 home runs, 27 doubles, 76 runs, and 92 RBIs.

He was assigned to the Arizona Fall League following the end of the season but was shut down after the wrist discomfort and missed the start of the minor-league season.

Giants manager Bob Melvin has no plans to rush Eldridge and wants to get him more upper-level experience in the Minors. Now that he's healthy and appears to have regained his full form, they will need to closely monitor their power hitter prospect.

Melvin spoke with MLB.com about the trajectory for Eldridge and their close watch of his progress.

“We watch everybody, but obviously, he’s the top prospect in the organization,” Melvin said. “He was with us in spring training, and we feel like he has a really bright future. We’ll take a hard look at him, and hopefully he gets off to a good start and does his thing. We’ll see where it goes from there." 

Eldridge’s value to the franchise justifies a cautious approach that won’t lead to any more inflammation of his wrist and delay his MLB debut.

Richmond was a great landing spot for the Fairfax, Va., native, particularly after playing nine games there last season before his late Triple-A promotion.

President of baseball operations, Buster Posey, has said he wants Eldridge’s arrival to be just that, one where he’s poised to succeed.

The Giants’ care in their handling of Eldridge will pay dividends in developing the talented slugger who looks to be a cornerstone of the franchise’s future.

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Maddy Hudak
MADDY HUDAK

Maddy Hudak is the deputy editor for Tulane on Sports Illustrated and the radio sideline reporter for their football team. Maddy is an alumnus of Tulane University, and graduated in 2016 with a degree in psychology. She went on to obtain a Master of Legal Studies while working as a research coordinator at the VA Hospital, and in jury consulting. During this time, Maddy began covering the New Orleans Saints with SB Nation, and USA Today. She moved to New Orleans in 2021 to pursue a career in sports and became Tulane's sideline reporter that season. She enters her fourth year with the team now covering the program on Sports Illustrated, and will use insights from features and interviews in the live radio broadcast. You can follow her on X at @MaddyHudak_94, or if you have any questions or comments, she can be reached via email at maddy.hudak1@gmail.com

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