James Tibbs III also made the list.
The San Francisco Giants may have a new face running baseball operations, but they still have the same face representing the future that awaits in the Minor Leagues. Yes, first baseman Bryce Eldridge remains the consensus top prospect in the organization, and with the regular season in the rearview mirror, we’re about to start learning how the rest of baseball views Eldridge and the rest of the Giants prospects. Because it is officially prospect ranking season.
MLB Pipeline — the official prospect site of MLB’s website and enterprise — got the post-season rankings started by unveiling their top 100 prospects list. Eldridge came in at No. 35 on the list after a phenomenal season in which he cleared Low-A, dominated High-A, ended the season in AAA, and led the farm in home runs … all while being just 19 years old.
There will surely be some critique from Giants fans at Eldridge “only” being ranked as the 35th-best prospect, despite hitting .291/.374/.516 across four levels, in his first full season, before his 20th birthday. And the reason for it lies almost entirely in his position, as he plays the position on the diamond that has, by far, the largest gap between defensive value and offensive expectation. As such, Eldridge is the second-highest ranked pure first base prospect, trailing only Kansas City Royals prospect Jac Caglianone … the No. 6 pick in the 2024 MLB Draft, who hit 35 home runs this collegiate season. Eldridge has emerged as one of the clear-cut top hitters in the Minor Leagues, but his ceiling is lowered slightly by not providing much defensive value, while his floor is lowered a touch by playing a position where quality offense is a requirement. But while that equation might add up to a lower spot on prospect lists than many would wish, it doesn’t diminish the star talent that Eldridge so clearly has.
Eldridge, the team’s first-round pick in the 2023 draft, is joined in the top 100 by their first-round pick in the 2024 draft, outfielder James Tibbs III. Tibbs, who excelled in a short stint in Low-A post-draft, but struggled in his time with High-A, debuts at No. 88 on the list.
When the season began, the Giants had four prospects on the top 100 list: left-handed pitcher Kyle Harrison, who has since graduated, was No. 23; shortstop Marco Luciano, who has also graduated, was No. 39; left-handed pitcher Carson Whisenhunt, who has since fallen off the list, was No. 83; and Eldridge was No. 96. When Pipeline updated their list on July 1, shortly before the draft, they still had four players listed, even though Harrison had graduated: Whisenhunt was No. 59; Eldridge was No. 71; Luciano was No. 76; and right-handed pitcher Hayden Birdsong, who has since graduated, popped in at No. 99.
While fans will wish for the Giants to be better represented on these lists, it certainly needs to be noted that the team has rapidly been adding young talent lately. Looking at Pipeline’s list of the Giants top 30 prospects, a whopping 10 are players who have been added to the system this year: 2024 draft picks Tibbs (No. 2), Dakota Jordan (No. 4), Robert Hipwell (No. 19), and Jakob Christian (No. 20); international signings Jhonny Level (No. 13), Yohendry Sanchez (No. 21), and Oliver Tejada (No. 26); and trade acquisitions Jacob Bresnahan (No. 17), Jonah Cox (No. 22), and Sabin Ceballos (No. 30). Another nine of those top 30 were acquired last year: draftees Eldridge (No. 1), Joe Whitman (No. 6), Walker Martin (No. 7), Maui Ahuna (No. 10), Jose Ortiz (No. 24), and Josh Bostick (No. 27); international signee Rayner Arias (No. 5); and undrafted signees Trent Harris (No. 16) and Bo Davidson (No. 25).
A lot of fresh talent waiting in the Minors!