Giants Talk: Why top prospect Bryce Eldridge desperately needs more playing time
"Giants Talk" hosts Cole Kuiper and Alex Pavlovic react to Bryce Eldridge's alarming lack of playing time in San Francisco.
Giants Talk: Why top prospect Bryce Eldridge desperately needs more playing time originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
Video Transcript
What did Eldridge do this series?
He did play two of three, majority of the games.
two for four on Monday with a strikeout, did not play Tuesday.
And had brought in Matt Chapman with a, with a hard hit double on Wednesday.
Yeah, 113.4. hardest hit ball of the year for the Giants.
It was Would've been a homer in 16 ballparks.
That is like a deep, deep center field.
Mm-hmm.
I That was the type of swing that I, I just You know, we're not breaking any new ground here, but I don't see how you watch that swing and just sit him at all.
Yeah.
And just And I You know, I was doing the show with Rich yester- Rich Aurilia, and he made a great point that I wanted to steal from him, that he's been in that position.
And he said the really hard thing when you're not getting consistent time is that you don't get in a rhythm, and you go out there and try to do something good, 'cause you don't wanna go like o for four.
So you're like, "Let me go out here and get a Like, draw a walk today."
Which is great.
Like, especially for this Giants team.
They need a walk.
But his, his point was that they're not putting Bryce in a position where he gets comfortable.
And let's say he gets two hits, and he gets to play the next day.
And he's like, feels like he's in a rhythm, feels good.
Feels like he doesn't have to just go out there and reach base just to prove that he should be in the lineup.
Mm-hmm.
And can kind of let what he does take over and, you know, hit a homer, and maybe hit a couple homers in one of these games at some point.
So I, I think that's part of this as well.
They're not letting him ever just find any sort of consistency.
I don't think This for me is like a, in a world where nothing anymore is like a 99 to 1 issue, this is a 99 to 1 issue.
Bryce said, "It is what it is.
You can argue every day that playing every day would be helpful, but I'm happy to be here."
Obviously putting a neutral, politically correct attitude- Yeah out there.
But you have to imagine it, it's disappointing to him.
And this is the kind of issue that isn't threatening this season as much as threatening, like, his development and the future of this organization.
So that's what puts it so high on the priority list.
Yeah.
I just don't think there's any argument on the other side of this.
And like, you know, the one argument they had and that I, I was trying to do my best to see their side of it is like Look, it's, it's hard to find You can't bench Matt Chapman.
You can't bench some of these other guys.
So it's hard, it's hard to find the lineup spot.
But in a weird way, this opened up with Eliott Ramos getting hurt.
And I Like, Casey's looked fine in left field.
Mm-hmm.
He made a nice running catch yesterday.
I'd just try it for You know, just, just do it for a weekend.
And if, if it's a defensive disaster and the answer to this is that, "You know what?
Casey's been our best hitter.
Casey has nine home runs.
We should mention him.
Like, he's been, he's been really good, and it's not fair to throw him out in left field 'cause it's Look what happened."
If that's the case, then, you know, you have the conversation about whether Bryce needs to go to Sacramento every day.
But like, there's an opening here to play both of them every single day.
And it's a little bit tougher on Casey, but the flip side of that is that he gets to play every day and Bryce gets to play every day.
And it's I just don't think there's another side of this, and I, I don't really understand what they're doing.
I, I try to always I know people call me a homer.
I, I think my job is to explain what the Giants are thinking knowing what I know being in the clubhouse, having access to their front office.
This is one where I have a really hard time even, like, coming up with Like, knowing their side of it or even giving their side of it.
Mm-hmm.
'Cause, you know, we've asked Tony, and one thing he said is like, "There's gonna be the pinch hit opportunities that's gonna get him to games that way."
Well, no, he's not.
He's not pinch hitting.
So, his whole thing was like, there might be a game where he pinch hits and he gets two at bats.
Like, it's not happening.
So I think we said it last podcast, we've said it before of like, let's see if this earns him three starts.
This is again like, let's see if this He better be in the lineup Friday.
