As levels keep shutting it down, the Giants’ top prospect, Bryce Eldridge, keeps staying ahead of things by stepping it up, and, amazingly, the Giants pushed him one last time this weekend, moving the 6’7” teenager up to Triple-A to receive one more week’s worth of at bats before 2024 gets put completely to bed. This is a truly astonishing rise. Barely a week ago, Eldridge became the youngest player ever to homer for the Richmond Flying Squirrels, and if he goes deep again this year, he’ll set the mark for youngest player in the Giants’ portion of that franchise by many years!
I consider myself a pretty good repository of recent organizational history at the minor league level, but I’m a little stymied trying to come up with the last time a player this young has been moved up to Triple-A. I do recall an 18-year-old Ehire Adrianza getting an emergency bump up to Triple-A Fresno from the Arizona Complex league for a couple of days in a roster emergency situation (3 for 6 with a double. Good job, Ehire!). That was back in 2008. But it was hardly a case of a player moving up to the level. Adrianza was returned right back to the complex for the rest of the season, and he wouldn’t see Triple-A again for another five years. Madison Bumgarner was promoted to the major leagues from Double-A Connecticut a few weeks after his 20th birthday, but he wouldn’t see Triple-A for the first time until the following season. Matt Cain and Jerome Williams also arrived at Triple-A at 20.
I honestly have no good idea when the last time was the Giants might have had an analogous situation — a young hitting prospect pushing his way on merit to the highest level — but I’m certain it hasn’t happened this century. Digging into old rosters, there are a couple of situations that may have been Adrianza-esque — though even there without old game logs (which aren’t available prior to 2008), it’s not certain they were teenagers. Yorvit Torrealba did work his way up to Triple-A Fresno at the end of his age-19 season back in 1998, though he had turned 20 in July. That’s the closest comp I can find in somewhat recent memory — though his calling card that season wasn’t exactly his advanced bat.
I honestly believe that to find a truly similar situation, you have to go back to Jack Clark, who was moved up from Double-A Lafayette to the Giants to make his major league debut in September, 1975 at the tender age of 19. Clark, like Bumgarner, wouldn’t actually head to Triple-A Phoenix until the next season, after he’d turned 20, but that’s the closest I can get to what’s happened with Eldridge.
THAT WAS 50 YEARS AGO!!!
My goodness.
HITTER of the WEEKEND: Bryce Eldridge (Sac), 2 for 9, 1 BB, 2 R
PITCHER of the WEEKEND: Nick Morreale (Rich), 5.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3K
The pure numbers for Eldridge this weekend might not have been as strong as other players (good for you, Hunter Bishop!). But you know what? When you become the first teenager to pick up a Triple-A hit for the organization in 18 years, you get danged Hitter of the Weekend in my book!
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