Eldridge learning from SF¡¯s ¡®first base guru,¡¯ J.T. Snow

This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado¡¯s Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Bryce Eldridge had never met former Giants first baseman J.T. Snow prior to last week, but he was aware of the six-time Gold Glove winner¡¯s reputation for defensive excellence.

¡°That¡¯s all I¡¯ve heard, that he¡¯s a first base guru,¡± said Eldridge, the club¡¯s No. 1 prospect. ¡°That¡¯s something I could really use in my life right now.¡±

The Giants figured as much, which was why the club decided to invite Snow to spend a week serving as a guest instructor at Scottsdale Stadium this spring. Since arriving in camp on Feb. 22, Snow has been working closely with Eldridge and sharing his expertise to help speed along the highly touted slugger¡¯s development at first base.

The first thing that struck Snow about Eldridge?

¡°He¡¯s 20 years old,¡± Snow said Monday. ¡°I told him, ¡®You can¡¯t even buy me a beer after a workout.¡¯ I said, ¡®When I was your age, I was a sophomore in college.¡¯ He¡¯s a great kid. He¡¯s a great listener. He wants to listen and learn, and he¡¯s engaging. He asks good questions.¡±

There aren¡¯t a ton of questions about Eldridge¡¯s bat, which offers tremendous raw power and helped fuel his meteoric rise from Single-A San Jose to Triple-A Sacramento last season. But Eldridge isn¡¯t quite as advanced with the glove as he is at the plate.

Before being selected by the Giants with the 16th overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft, Eldridge mostly pitched and served as a designated hitter while starring as a two-way player in high school. He got some looks at first base, but he didn¡¯t start to play the position regularly until his first full season in pro ball. The inexperience showed, as he committed 18 errors over 100 games at first last year.

Now that he¡¯s in big league camp for the first time, Eldridge is working hard to shore up his defensive skills and soak up all the guidance Snow can offer.

¡°It¡¯s been great,¡± Eldridge said Friday. ¡°Obviously, he¡¯s super knowledgeable over there. It¡¯s something that¡¯s been super helpful for me this past week. I¡¯ve learned a lot just with him being here and how he goes about his routines and all that. He¡¯s a great guy. Me and him get along well. He¡¯s great at explaining his mindset and his thinking process over there, so it¡¯s been good.¡±

Eldridge has been doing early work on the back fields every morning with Snow, third-base coach Matt Williams and special assistant to the front office Ron Wotus, drilling down on fundamentals such as bunt plays, picks, relays, cutoffs, positioning and footwork. Eldridge said one of Snow¡¯s biggest tips was to try to get his glove closer to the ground on his pre-step to help keep his 6-foot-7 frame as low as possible.

¡°I told him, ¡®You¡¯re at a disadvantage with some things because you¡¯re so tall,¡¯¡± Snow said. ¡°¡®You¡¯ve got to get down. You¡¯re taller, lankier. You might have to work a little harder than guys that are 6¡¯1¡± to get down with the ball.¡¯ But he¡¯s athletic. I¡¯m impressed with his athleticism. We¡¯ve been positioning the bag. We did some balls in the dirt. The big thing now is just repetitions.¡±

¡°These guys have been telling me, I¡¯ve got to use my advantages, but I¡¯ve also got to play like I¡¯m 5¡¯9¡±,¡± Eldridge said. ¡°I¡¯m getting better there. That¡¯s the thing, is staying in my legs. That¡¯s why J.T. gave me that cue of kind of getting my glove in the dirt on my pre-step when the pitch is coming in. It¡¯s been good for me.¡±

Snow believes Eldridge¡¯s size will eventually help him nab more throws and gain the trust of his infielders, though that process will likely take some time. Eldridge made his first four Cactus League appearances at DH before finally seeing some game action at first base in Thursday¡¯s 4-4 tie against the Cubs at Scottsdale Stadium. He came in as a defensive substitute for Wilmer Flores, but he misplayed a routine grounder down the first-base line in the top of the seventh inning, allowing it to roll into right field for a generously scored double.

¡°I think patience is the biggest thing,¡± Snow said. ¡°He¡¯s young and learning a position. But he¡¯s farther along than I thought. ¡­ He¡¯s kind of like a clean slate, which is good. You can kind of mold him and get him to do things. Maybe he doesn¡¯t have any bad habits yet. If someone already has some bad habits, you have to break those. He doesn¡¯t have any of those, so you can look at that as a positive.¡±