Explaining Giants Slugger Bryce Eldridge’s Sharp Drop in Prospect Rankings

The road to the Major League can be bumpy, especially for highly respected prospects like San Francisco Giants first baseman Bryce Eldridge.

He ended last season at Triple-A Sacramento. That earned him an invitation to the Arizona Fall League and to his first Major League spring training. But a wrist injury derailed his spring, kept him out of the spring breakout game and even prevented him from starting the regular season on time.

It also led to him being assigned to Double-A Richmond to start this campaign, as opposed to Sacramento. While it puts him closer to his Vienna, Va., home, it’s still a demotion.

Baseball America recently re-ranked its Top 100 prospects for the first time during the 2025 season. Eldridge was still in the Top 100 like he was in the preseason. He also remained the Giants’ only Top 100 prospect. But he dropped from No. 11 to No. 22, one of the sharpest drops of any Top 100 prospect.

Why did Bryce Eldridge Drop in Prospect Rankings?

Site like Baseball America and MLB Pipeline typically don’t drop prospects that much due to injury. Consider that Philadelphia Phillies prized pitching prospect Andrew Painter has remained at the high end of the Top 100 even though he’s missed nearly two seasons due to Tommy John surgery and recovery.

As it turns out, Eldridge's wrist injury had little to do with his drop in the rankings.

Baseball America’s editors wrote that Eldridge, along with a several of other prospects, dropped “… because a significant number of prospects moved up.”

Plus, only five prospects graduated from the Top 100 in May. Prospects are only eligible if they have not exceeded 130 MLB at-bats, 50 innings pitched or 30 pitching appearances.

The left-handed hitter’s return last month surely stabilized his ranking. After a slow start, he’s back to slugging the ball again. Through his first 13 games he’s slashed .292/.393/.417 with one home run and five RBI. He also has three doubles.

While he ended last season at Sacramento, the Giants believe the 20-year-old has a bit more development to do. He only played 17 games combined last year at Richmond and Sacramento.

The imposing 6-foot-7 Eldridge was selected No. 16 overall in 2023 and signed him for a $4 million signing bonus. After his selection, he did a short stint with the Giants’ Arizona Complex League team and the Class A San Jose Giants, where he slashed .294/.400/.505/.905 with six home runs and 19 RBI in 31 games.

Last season, Eldridge played for San Jose, High-A Eugene, Richmond and Sacramento, exceling at every stop. He finished with a slash line of .291/.374/.516/.890 with 23 home runs and 92 RBI. He was also selected to play in the MLB Futures Game during All-Star weekend.

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