Bryce

Eldridge

Eldridge gets a chance at DH to face Milwaukee lefty Robert Gasser in this one after taking a seat against emerging ace Kyle Harrison earlier in the series. The 21-year-old top prospect has shown some encouraging signs of late, hitting .409 (9-for-22) with one homer and three RBI over his last seven games.

Eldridge went 6-for-11 with a home run during a three-game series against the Rockies over the weekend. The 21-year-old predictably takes a seat against southpaw Kyle Harrison, who has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this season. He figures to continue playing everyday against right-handed pitching and offers some appeal in deeper mixed leagues based on his immense power production and path to regular at-bats.

It’s kind of remarkable that Eldridge had a game like this with the Giants scoring 19 runs yet only wound up with the one RBI on his homer. However, all four of his hits came leading off an inning after Matt Chapman made an out to end the previous frame. The two times he did come up with men on turned into his outs. It was still a great day for Eldridge, who hit balls 453, 419 and 354 feet at Coors. He matched his previous season totals of one homer and four runs scored from his first 17 games.

It’s nice to see Eldridge finally getting consistent opportunities for San Francisco, but he’s off to a brutal .139 (5-for-36) start with just one homer and two RBI across 11 games since returning to the big leagues earlier this month. The 21-year-old top prospect isn’t striking out a ton, which is a positive sign, but he’s simply not making enough hard contact to matter for fantasy purposes right now. His future remains extremely bright, but it could take him a while to figure things out in the majors.

The Giants gave Casey Schmitt the day off to get Eldridge in there tonight, but it obviously didn’t work. Eldridge is 2-for-21 with a homer and nine strikeouts while starting six of nine games since his callup. If the A’s want to play him again Thursday, it should be at the expense of Willy Adames, who forgot how many outs there were and got doubled off to end the seventh tonight.

Eldridge has had to split time with Rafael Devers and Casey Schmitt since coming up from Triple-A Sacramento last week. With their season trending in the wrong direction, it feels inevitable that the Giants are going to turn the cold corner over to their top prospect on a full-time basis at some point in the near future.

Eldridge takes a seat for the second straight contest after homering during Saturday’s blowout loss to the Pirates. The 21-year-old’s path to everyday at-bats is complicated by the presence of both Rafael Devers and Casey Schmitt as he’s started just four of seven contests since being called up last week from Triple-A. He possesses upper-echelon raw power, but is probably going to strike out too often, and also struggle to play enough to be an impactful fantasy contributor this season. That’s just the unfortunate reality when it comes to most top prospects as they find their stride at the highest level. Sometimes it takes longer than anticipated.

Eldridge is 1-for-9 with a walk and four strikeouts in three games since getting the call. Strikeouts are certainly going to remain an issue for him, but there’s reason to think he’ll show enough power to make up for them. He hit .333/.445/.518 while fanning 30 percent of the time in Triple-A to start the year.

It’s official. Eldridge is at DH and hitting seventh in his season debut against the division-rival Padres on Monday night at Oracle Park. The power-hitting 21-year-old top prospect struggled in his first taste of the big leagues last year, but he’s one of the most intriguing potential middle-of-the-order impact hitters to come through the minors in a few years. He’ll need to prove he can make enough contact and get to his immense raw power frequently enough to matter for fantasy purposes. He’s more of a deep-league lottery ticket at the moment, but he’s the type of elite talent that could make a leap very quickly if everything comes together for him.

Eldridge will get another shot after batting .333/.445/.518 for Sacramento, but his return really complicates things, what with his replacement, Casey Schmitt, being arguably the Giants’ best player to date. All of the team’s veteran infielders are used to being everyday players, and it’s hard to imagine any will be happy sitting once or twice per week to make room for Eldridge at first and DH, even if it’s the right call for the team. Rodriguez has started at catcher, second base and in left field this year, so he offers a lot more versatility than Eldridge and will be an easier fit. Still, we’re not sure either rates a pickup in mixed leagues at this point. Eldridge has the potential, but he’ll stay the bench against lefties and possibly the occasional righty.