Sunday Notes: Bryce Eldridge Wants To Crush Pitches In the Air

Bryce Eldridge is the top prospect in the San Francisco Giants system thanks largely to the lethality of his power-packed left-handed stroke, an enviable asset that he augments with a patient approach. Drafted 16th overall in 2023 out of Vienna, Virginia’s James Madison High School, the 6-foot-7 first baseman projects, in the words of Eric Longenhagen, as “a middle-of-the-order force.”

What he accomplished in his first full professional season suggests that our lead prospect analyst’s assessment was spot-on. Beginning the year in Low-A and ending it in Triple-A, Eldridge slashed .289/.372/.513 with 23 home runs and a 137 wRC+ over 519 plate appearances. Moreover, he put up those numbers as a teenager. Eldridge didn’t turn 20 until mid-October.

That he was drafted as a two-way player is part of his story. While he hasn’t toed the rubber in a game since receiving his just-shy-of $4M signing bonus, the possibility of his playing both ways was certainly there. (Longenhagen was bearish on the idea, opining in his post-draft recap that the “two-way experiment should eventually lead him to full-time hitting.”)

His potential as a pitcher was the first subject I broached when speaking to Edington at the Arizona Fall League, where he is suiting up for the Scottsdale Scorpions. Why is he now a hitter only?

“I think I definitely could have competed as a pitcher, but my hitting was just further ahead,” explained Eldridge. “I was projectable both ways — I’d say it was a split camp as far as teams’ interest— but hitting was the quickest option for me to get to the big leagues. With my power and size, and I have a short swing, it makes the most sense.”

Longenhagen has cited the length of the slugger’s swing, saying that it looks relatively short to the baseball given his size. According to Eldridge, the directness of his stroke is both god-given and honed.

“Growing up, I kind of had a natural, sweet lefty swing,” he told me. “As I kept getting bigger I had to keep working at it, working with my coaches back home, working on trying to stay short. Consistency is the biggest key, especially for a guy my size. The more I can stay consistent with that stroke, the better it will be.”

And if you’re wondering, yes, he considers himself a power hitter.

“For sure,” Eldridge replied when asked if he identifies as such. “I think I’m a pretty complete hitter, although the strikeout numbers [132 this season] might point to me being a power hitter. Being able to put the ball in the air is my game. If I can get it in the air, it flies.”

Eldridge attributes this season’s higher-than-ideal 25.4% strikeout rate mostly to his getting used to the quality of the pitching as he steadily moved up the minor league ladder. A goal going forward is to better handle elevated fastballs, as his “swing path is more uphill,” resulting in pitchers attacking him upstairs. But while being able to cover the entire zone will make him an even bigger challenge, what opposing hurlers most need to fear is what happens when they throw something in his happy zone.

“If I can solidify my approach, I can do more damage,” said Eldridge. “What I want to do is lay of off the ones I should and crush the right pitches in the air.”

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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS

Atley Donald went 0 for 6 against Lum Harris.

Red Rolfe went 0 for 13 against Mickey Harris.

Brendan Harris went 10 for 21 against Jon Lester.

Lenny Harris went 15 for 35 against Jose Rijo.

Dave Harris went 24 for 54 against Rube Walberg.

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“What is the worst pitch you’ve thrown this year?’ is a question I posed to several pitchers over the course of the season, with the likes of Corbin Burnes and Tarik Skubal — to name just two — sharing their responses for inclusion in previous Sunday Notes. Pittsburgh Pirates reliever Colin Holderman is another of those who looked back at a pitch that went horribly awry.

“It was to [Lourdes] Gurriel, with Arizona,” Holderman told me. “I did not want to go cutter — I knew it in my head — and they put down cutter. I was like, ‘You know what? The catcher saw something I didn’t.’ It might have been the right pitch, but I wasn’t fully convicted. I threw it, left it in the middle — it was supposed to be away — and he homered about 400 feet down the line. It was a terrible pitch. It was one that should be hit in the big leagues. Very far.”

Perusing video to assess his lack of execution wasn’t tempting to the underrated right-hander.

“As a reliever throwing every day, I try to start fresh and not really look back,” explained Holderman, who came out of the Pirates pen 59 times this year and logged a 3.16 ERA over 51-and-a-third innings. “If I need to pump my tires I might look at the strikeouts, but the bad ones… I mean, I’ll look that night, but after I go to sleep, no. I don’t look back.”

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A quiz:

William Howard Taft was the first U.S. President to throw out the first pitch of an MLB season, doing so on April 14, 1910. Catching the first pitch was a 22-year-old right-hander who proceeded to throw a one-hit shutout that day, then go on to lead the American League in wins six times, and in strikeouts 12 times. Who was it?

The answer can be found below.

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NEWS NOTES

The Miami Marlins have hired Joe Migliaccio as their new director of hitting (per MLB.com’s Christina De Nicola.) The Oral Roberts University graduate has been coaching in the New York Yankees system since 2019.

Scott Hennessey will be the new manager of the Triple-A Oklahoma City Comets (the Los Angeles Dodgers affiliate played as the Oklahoma City Baseball Club this past season). Hennessey moves up from Tulsa, where he managed the Double-A Drillers.

Ray Semproch, a right-handed pitcher whose modest big-league career spanned the 1958-1961 seasons, died earlier this week at age 93. Nicknamed “Baby,” the Cleveland native went 13-11 with the Philadelphia Phillies in his rookie season, after which he won just six of 16 decisions. Semproch also saw action with the Detroit Tigers and the expansion-year Los Angeles Angels.

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The answer to the quiz is Walter Johnson, who spent his entire 21-year career with the Washington Senators.

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A broadcast legend is retiring after four-plus decades, albeit from only one of his duties. Bob Costas, who called his first game for NBC in 1980, announced this week that he will no longer do baseball play-by-play, although he will continue to share his insights at MLB Network. The latter is good news for fans of the national pastime. Costas is a fount of knowledge when it comes to the game’s history, and while he has his detractors, his passion for the sport is undeniable. The 72-year-old, 2018 Ford C. Frick Award winner deserves every accolade he’s received. Consider this another.

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A random obscure former player snapshot:

MLB history includes two players named John Kennedy, the second of whom, John Edward Kennedy, not only was a big-league infielder from 1962-1974; he also shared a May 29 birthday with former US President John Fitzgerald Kennedy. The first had a far shorter, but no less notable career. On April 22, 1957, John Irvin Kennedy became the first African American player in Philadelphia Phillies history (six days earlier, Cuban-born Chico Fernandez became the franchise’s first player of color). Thirty years old when he debuted, Kennedy would appear in just five games with the NL club, going hitless in each of his two at-bats. Prior to his cup of coffee with the Phillies, he played for the Birmingham Black Barons and Kansas City Monarchs.

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The Yokohama DeNA BayStars lost the first two games, then won four straight against the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks to capture NPB’s best-of-seven Japan Series. The BayStars outscored the Hawks 27-2 over the last four games, including 11-2 in today’s clincher. It was Yokohama’s first championship in 26 years

The Kia Tigers won this year’s Korean Series, beating the Samsung Tigers in five games. Former FanGraphs contributor Sung Min Kim works in Kia’s Baseball Operations department.

Opening Day in the Australian Baseball League is November 15. The Adelaide Giants are the defending champions.

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The committee that selects NPB’s Sawamura Award winner — Japan’s equivalent to the Cy Young — opted not to honor a pitcher this year, the first time they’ve done so since 2019. The five-member committee reportedly narrowed its choices to Kohei Arihara and Shosei Togo, but ultimately determined that neither met the antiquated, if not absurd, unofficial criteria.

How did the not-deemed-worthy-enough duo do this season?

Arihara went 14-7 with a 2.36 ERA and 137 strikeouts in 182-and-two-thirds innings. Togo went 12-8 with a 1.95 ERA and 156 strikeout in 180 innings.

Meanwhile, a handful of other pitchers had arguably better seasons. They include:

Tomoyuki Sugano, who is expected to be pitching for an MLB team next season, went 15-3 with a 1.67 ERA and 111 strikeouts in 156-and-two-thirds innings.

Hiroto Takahashi, who celebrated his 22nd birthday in August, went 12-4 with a 1.38 ERA and 130 strikeouts in 143-and-two-thirds innings.

Liván Moinelo, in his first year as a starter after having dominated out of the bullpen, went 11-5 with a 1.88 ERA and 155 strikeouts in 163 innings.

With the caveat that NPB standards aren’t MLB standards, the idea that no one was deemed worthy strikes me as questionable. That the ingredients baked into the qualifications pie include 15 wins, a .600 winning percentage, and 200 innings (a total no NPB pitcher reached this year) strongly suggests that dinosaurs are making the decisions. The committee’s chairman, 76-year-old Japanese Baseball Hall of Famer Tsuneo Horiuchi, was quoted as saying, “In the current era, where pitchers are at an advantage, we would like them to improve their performance a little more.”

The same might be said for Tsuneo Horiuchi. Times change. That the game isn’t the exactly same as it was in previous generations shouldn’t be disrespected.

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FARM NOTES

Nick Kurtz has gone 8-for-18 with a home run since being assigned to the Arizona Fall League’s Mesa Solar Sox last weekend. Drafted fourth overall this summer out of Wake Forest University, the 21-year-old first baseman had a 1.283 OPS over 50 plate appearances between Low-A Stockton and Double-A Midland.

Jac Caglianone is slashing .262/.310/.446 with three home runs in 65 plate appearances for the AFL’s Surprise Saguaros. Drafted sixth overall this summer by the Kansas City Royals out of the University of Florida, the 21-year-old first baseman had a .690 OPS over 128 PAs with High-A Quad Cities.

Josh Stephan has allowed eight hits and one run, with 17 strikeouts, in 16-and-two-thirds innings for the Saguaros. Signed as a non-drafted free agent by the Texas Rangers in 2020, the newly-turned 23-year-old right-hander had a 4.94 ERA over 58-and-a-third innings with Double-A Frisco.

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Drew Gilbert was featured here at Sunday Notes two weeks ago, with the highly-regarded New York Mets prospect looking back at his days as a young Twins fan growing up in St. Paul, Minnesota. Left on the cutting-room floor from my Arizona Fall League conversation with Gilbert was his response to a question about his draft experience. Two years ago, the Houston Astros (who later traded him to the Mets) took Gilbert four picks after Boston selected Mikey Romero. Had the Red Sox shown much interest?

“Honestly. I didn’t have much contact with them,” said Gilbert. “But I played with Roman Anthony [whom Boston proceeded to take 79th overall] in travel ball, and I actually know a few of the guys in their system. But again, I never really talked to the Red Sox. It’s crazy, because on draft day I literally woke up not knowing what was going to happen. I had a draft party, hoping I was going to get chosen the first day, but I had a smaller one just in case I didn’t. I had no idea what to expect.”

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Dwight Evans finished his career with the Orioles after 19 seasons with the Red Sox. Why did the should-be Hall of Fame outfielder depart Boston and play one final year in Baltimore? According to his must-read autobiography, Dewey: Behind the Gold Glove, the other choice would have been to retire. After returning home from Oakland where the Red Sox had just been eliminated in the 1990 ALCS, Evans was cleaning out his locker when he got word that Lou Gorman wanted to see him upstairs. Upon arriving in the GM’s office, he was informed that his contract wasn’t going to be renewed. His storied tenure in Boston was over.

Evans went on to play in 101 games in his lone season as an Oriole, logging a 122 wRC+ and going deep six times in 329 plate appearances. With the Red Sox he had played in 2,505 games — second most in franchise history behind Carl Yastrzemski — with a 129 wRC+, 379 home runs, and 64.3 WAR. He was also awarded eight Gold Gloves.

And there is more to the story. As recounted in the book, Evans suspected that his time in Boston might be coming to an end, so in the final week of the regular season he asked if it might be possible for him to formally say goodbye to the fans who had cheered him on for nearly two decades. The request was ignored. Evans deserved better.

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

Twinkie Town’s Zack Koenig made a case for a shorter MLB season.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now’s John Perrotto wonders if one of three Red Sox outfielders might be a good trade target for Pirates GM Ben Cherington.

MLB.com’s Adam McCalvy presented us with things we need to know about the Milwaukee Brewers offseason, including key dates, pending 40-man and non-tender decisions, the payroll situation, and more.

Also at MLB.com, Sarah Langs gave us a dozen eye-popping stats from a thriller of a Game 5 World Series clincher.

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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

Aaron Judge and Shohei Ohtani combined to go 6-for-37 with one home run in this year’s World Series. Mickey Mantle and Jackie Robinson combined to go 6-for-32 with one home run when the Dodgers defeated the Yankees in the 1955 World Series.

Dave Roberts has a 56-44 managerial record in the postseason. Bruce Bochy has a 57-37 managerial record in the postseason.

Will Venable played for the Arizona Fall League’s Peoria Saguaros in 2007. His teammates included Chris Coghlan, Tuffy Gosewisch, Nick Hundley, and Cameron Maybin.

Freddie Freeman has 8,736 plate appearances, 1,635 strikeouts, and a .512 slugging percentage. Joey Votto had 8,746 plate appearances, 1,640 strikeouts, and a .511 slugging percentage.

John Mayberry had 1,379 hits and 20 stolen bases.
Otis Nixon had 1,379 hits and 620 stolen bases.

On today’s date in 2009, George W. Bush threw out the first pitch before Game 3 of the Japan Series, The Tokyo Yomiuri Giants went on to beat the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters 7-4.

On today’s date in 2001, Randy Johnson went seven strong innings as the Arizona Diamondbacks routed the New York Yankees 15-2 in World Series Game 6. The Big Unit came out of the bullpen the following night and got credit for the win as the D-Backs captured Game 7 on a walk-off single by Luis Gonzalez.

Players born on today’s date include Ken Robinson, a right-hander who appeared in 29 games across the 1995-1997 season while pitching for the Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals. A native of Barberton, Ohio, Robinson was killed in an auto accident in February 1999 at age 29.

Also born on today’s date was Homer Summa, who batted .302 and went deep 18 times in 3,001 at-bats while playing for three teams, mostly the Cleveland Indians, from 1920-1930. The Gentry, Missouri native’s given name was Homer Wayne.

Homer Smoot batted .290 with 15 home runs and 1,000 total bases while playing for the St. Louis Cardinals and Cincinnati Reds in a career that spanned the 1902-1906 seasons. The Galestown, Maryland native’s given name was Homer Vernon.

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