“That was always a plan and a goal of mine that I had,” Eldridge said. “But it was definitely talked about a lot throughout the offseason. Looking at it now, I’m going to play to my strengths, and I think that’s my bat and playing first base. I’m looking forward to doing that.”

The Giants also gave 2022 first-round Draft pick Reggie Crawford a chance to pursue a two-way path last year, but Crawford acknowledged that it became too challenging to juggle the hitting and pitching workloads in the Minors. The Giants wanted no such obstacles for Eldridge, who they believe has a chance to develop into a special bat. 

“I think, realistically, the biggest thing is not that he can’t pitch,” director of player development Kyle Haines said. “It’s that he’s really good as a hitter, and we don’t want anything to get in the way of the hitting development. High-school hitters have a tough time historically adjusting to the speed of the pro game, and he’s done a nice job so far of adjusting. But we really don’t want to have to worry about innings, a sore arm or things getting in the way of his at-bats or his adjustment to the hitting side. We’ll kind of see where it goes from there. The No. 1 thing for him is he just needs to get at-bats.” 

Eldridge possesses immense raw power from the left side and said one of his goals is to keep slugging this year, especially after adding 10-15 pounds since turning pro. 

“I like to have high expectations for myself,” Eldridge said. “I just want to keep up the home runs per at-bats. That’s what my game is going to be, hitting the ball out of the park. So consistently doing that throughout the year, trying not to have any spots where I go on streaks of not hitting any. I’m trying to stay as consistent as possible. Keep swinging at balls in the zone and keep dominating the zone.” 

Eldridge is likely to return to Single-A San Jose for the start of the 2024 campaign and he said he’s looking forward to building on the success he enjoyed last season. 

“I was happy with how it all went, obviously,” Eldridge said. “It’s a big jump going from playing in your high school state playoffs to going and jumping into a professional game, but I was happy with how I did. There’s always room for improvement. I’m looking to have another good year and keep making a name for myself out here.”