Eldridge, Giants' 19-year-old No. 1 prospect, being promoted to Triple-A

SAN FRANCISCO -- Bryce Eldridge’s tremendous season just got even more impressive.

After a nine-game stint at Double-A Richmond, Eldridge is heading to Triple-A Sacramento to finish the regular season, marking the third level the Giants’ No. 1 prospect has climbed this year.

Eldridge’s latest promotion, which was first reported by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel on Friday night (when the Giants lost, 5-0, to the Padres at Oracle Park), will make the 19-year-old first baseman the youngest player at the Triple-A level, where the average age is around 26.

Selected with the 16th overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft, Eldridge put himself on the fast track after slashing .294/.376/.535 with 23 home runs and 90 RBIs over 108 games between Single-A San Jose, High-A Eugene and Double-A Richmond this year.

“Dude rakes,” right-hander Hayden Birdsong said. “He’s really good.”

The 6-foot-7 Eldridge became the youngest player in Flying Squirrels history when he made his Double-A debut on Sept. 3, though he managed to hold his own in the Eastern League, batting .270 (10-for-37) with one home run over nine games. With the Double-A season coming to close on Sunday, the Giants decided to get Eldridge another week of at-bats by sending him to Sacramento, where he’ll have a chance to keep playing until the River Cats’ season finale on Sept. 22.

Eldridge, ranked by MLB Pipeline at No. 50 overall, is also expected to be among the Giants prospects who will see action in the Arizona Fall League next month, which should give the teen slugger more opportunities to face advanced pitching and refine his defense at first base.

If he stays on his current trajectory, Eldridge could be primed to break into the Majors next year and become the first 20-year-old to debut for San Francisco since Madison Bumgarner in 2009. His emergence could ultimately solve the Giants’ current power void at first base, where they entered Friday tied for 28th in the Majors with 12 home runs this season.

LaMonte Wade Jr. has logged an excellent .394 on-base percentage this year, but he’s produced only six homers, down from 17 in 2023. Wilmer Flores was expected to serve as Wade’s platoon partner at first, but he batted only .206 with a .595 OPS and four homers -- all of which were the lowest marks of his career -- before undergoing season-ending right knee surgery last month.

Pete Alonso, Paul Goldschmidt and Christian Walker will be among the power hitters available in free agency this offseason, but the Giants could refrain from seeking out external upgrades to leave a path open for Eldridge to establish himself as their first baseman of the future.

The Giants certainly could have used more thump in their lineup on Friday, as they were shut out for the second straight night. San Francisco collected only four hits against San Diego right-hander Dylan Cease and saw their best scoring opportunity fizzle when Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jake Cronenworth executed a perfect relay throw to nail Heliot Ramos at the plate to end the bottom of the sixth.

“We haven’t done a whole lot,” manager Bob Melvin said. “Usually we find a way, even if we don’t do much off a starter to make a push at the end, but their bullpen is pretty lock-down, too.”