2025 There R Giants' Top 50: #1 Bryce Eldridge

The Prodigy Arrives

Photo Credit: Madalyn Harrell | SF Giants

So far, in this year’s Top 50, we’ve seen:

• Just Missed List

• 46-50 (Camacho, Foster, Flores, Hernandez, Reckley)

• 41-45 (Christian, Pomares, Ahuna, Perez, Sugastey)

• 36-40 (Howell, Murphy, Miles, Simon, Choate)

• 31-35 (Sanchez, Waites, Bresnahan, Rengel, Maldonado)

• 26-30 (Hipwell, Bello, Tejada, Diaz, Bericoto)

• 21-25 (Ortíz, Furman, Cayama, Harris, Ceballos

• 16-20 (Cox, Martin, Meckler, Bostick, Velasquez)

• 11-15 (Arteaga, Crawford, Davidson, Seymour, Ragsdale)

• 10: Trevor McDonald

• 9: Mason Black

• 8: Joe Whitman

• 7: Rayner Arias

• 6: Jhonny Level

• 5. Dakota Jordan

• 4. James Tibbs III

• 3. Josuar de Jesus Gonzalez

• 2. Carson Whisenhunt

Serious question: when was the last time we saw a performance from a teenaged hitter that matches what Bryce Eldridge did in 2024? Let me pause a minute and let your mind flow on the possibilities….

Certainly, there have been some impressive seasons in rookie ball or down in the DSL. Back in 2019, there were three such years simultaneously, as Luis Matos put together a tremendously consistent campaign in the DSL, while Marco Luciano and Alexander Canario were crushing bombs in Arizona and the dear departed short-season league. The half-summer schedules in Salem-Keizer and other northwestern locales provided most of the best answers to this question — in addition to Canario, Nate Schierholtz, Julian Benavidez, Carlos Valderrama, and Jessie Reid all had outstanding 50-game runs in short-season ball.

But there’s no way to compare such low levels of competition and shorter samples of work to Eldridge’s campaign, rising from Low-A to Triple-A, and finishing with a stop off in the AFL. If we look at only players who performed in any full-season level, the options become scant in a hurry. Marcus Sanders (whose promise was short circuited by an old football injury), had a strong batting average and OBP-driven campaign in Low-A Sally action back in 2004. Before that, you have to go back a ways — there were years when the system was almost entirely bereft of teenaged talent in the later decades of the last century. Matt Nokes had a nice year in the Cal League in 1983. And Chili Davis put together outstanding back to back years in the Pioneer League and the Cal League as an 18 and 19-year-old. But even Davis’ strong year in Fresno (.898 OPS with 21 homers) doesn’t quite capture the challenge that Eldridge was given — especially given how much more offense-friendly the Cal League was back in those days.

No, I believe to answer this question, we have to go back to 1975, when a 19-year-old Jack Clark hit .303/.385/.513 with 23 home runs in the Double-A Texas League. He’d be in the majors for good the next year.

And you know another term one can use for “we have to back to 1975…..” is to say it was A HALF CENTURY AGO!!!!! Fifty flapadoodle years! We have to go back to the days when The Towering Inferno was a relevant pop culture reference to describe what we just watched — and, to be honest, wouldn’t be a bad nickname for the 6’7” youngster who put on one of the most en fuego displays of the 2024 season. A half century since we’ve seen a talent quite like this.

Let that thought sink in for a while.