It’s hard to believe it, but the San Francisco Giants are already more than halfway through their Cactus League schedule. They’ve played 15 games, with 14 remaining. They’ve also played an exhibition against Team USA, while the future has four more exhibitions: a Spring Breakout prospect game with the Cincinnati Reds, one game against their own AAA affiliate, and two games against Sultanes of the Mexican League.
And then it’s on to the good stuff!
Critically, the Giants have played enough games that we can start to get a feel for how each player’s spring is going, though Carson Whisenhunt on Saturday offered a very strong reminder that a spring can flip — for better or for worse — in a moment’s notice.
With that said, which player has, to this point, stood out to you the most, both positively and negatively?
While I think that Victor Bericoto’s spring has been the most surprising, I’m instead picking Bryce Eldridge as my spring standout to this point. There have been endless discussions over the last month as to Eldridge’s roster status — does he have to hit his way onto the roster, or does he have to hit his way off of it? But I’m just going to parrot something that Alex Pavlovic said on Thursday’s Giants Talk podcast: I don’t see how you can watch the at-bat he had against Paul Skenes and conclude that he shouldn’t be on the Opening Day roster.
Eldridge’s at-bats have been competitive, poised, and most impressively, loud. And his defense has even been very impressive. There will no doubt be bumps and bruises — he’s still striking out quite a lot — but that’s going to occur at the Major League level whether he’s called up on March 25 or on July 25. Ultimately, Eldridge has looked like he is without a doubt one of the team’s best bats, and that’s a happy sight in my eyes.
As for the biggest disappointment, the easy choice is certainly Hayden Birdsong. There’s unfortunately not too much to say there.
Who have been your biggest Spring Training standouts and disappointments so far?