Former two-way player turning his focus to fielding, hitting.

WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif — It doesn’t take much for fans of the San Francisco Giants to get excited about the future of Bryce Eldridge.

The organization’s top prospect has generated hype for years with his tape measure home runs, and is labeled baseball’s 22nd overall prospect.

“I try not to pay attention to that stuff too much,” Eldridge said of the praise he gets. “Focus on my work, continue to stay consistent, and take every day one day at a time.”

The daily progression of learning a new position allows Eldridge to develop his defense. First base is coming along for the slugger.

“Been a big learning curve for me playing there every day and learning the position,” Eldridge said. “I’ve been a lot better since I started but obviously I’m going to try and keep getting better there.”

Eldridge credits Giants infield coach Ron Washington and 7 am workouts at spring training with helping him improve his footwork and not overthink the position. 

He’s a converted two-way player – pitching and hitting, with upside so great he earned the nickname the American Ohtani after Los Angeles Dodgers two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani. 

“(Pitching and hitting) was something I made everyone aware I wanted to do and I thought that was going to be the case but looking back on it now I’m glad I went the route I did because I don’t think I’d be here if I continued to do both,” Eldridge said.

He won’t be in Sacramento long if his offensive numbers continue to trend upward. 

At the end of the River Cats latest series Eldridge’s season batting average is .360 and his on-base plus slugging is 1.012.

Eldridge has a grounded approach to the game so as not to look too far ahead.

“Faith has been really important for me and not having all of my identity put into being a baseball player and being this prospect everyone expects the world out of,” he said.

The stats give Giants executive a reassuring feeling after they took him 16th overall in the 2023 MLB Draft.

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