- 2 days ago
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00:00Can I dive off for just a second?
00:02What does this do to you?
00:04I feel like everybody has been running around just assuming,
00:09and I've seen this mock lineup a hundred times.
00:13Bryce Eldridge, opening day DH, San Francisco Giants, Izzy.
00:19And I feel like there's a chasm right now.
00:21There's a divide between those of us who follow the Giants
00:27and what we think are going to happen versus what scouts think.
00:32And so I want to throw something at you,
00:35and you tell me, just based on this data, what would you do?
00:42Y'all can call to, text whatever, 888-957-9570.
00:47Is Bryce Eldridge actually going to make the opening day roster
00:52for the San Francisco Giants?
00:54His spring OPS is 830.
00:59That sounds fine, right?
01:01Yeah.
01:01Spring OPS, 830.
01:04All right.
01:06In his last 17 at-bats, and I would argue the further you go into spring,
01:13the more likely you're facing, you know, actual big leaguers.
01:20Go look at a box score from three weeks ago at a Giants game.
01:24Tell me if you've heard of any of the pitchers.
01:26Right.
01:26You'll see all the last names.
01:28I can give you 20 bucks if you can give me all their first names.
01:30But you can't.
01:31I can't.
01:32Because they're double-A Richmond now.
01:35So in his last 17 at-bats, Bryce Eldridge,
01:39in spring don't count games, has struck out 11 times.
01:44Okay.
01:45In 17 at-bats.
01:48In 17 at-bats?
01:50Yeah.
01:50Okay.
01:51And he has three hits.
01:52One of them's a double.
01:54Right.
01:54And this is against the supposed or presupposed major league caliber guys.
02:00Yep.
02:00In a very hitter-friendly time of year in the desert where it's warm
02:05and the ball's jumping off the bat if you hit it.
02:08And he has hit the ball very hard when he has hit hit.
02:10But he strikes out a lot.
02:14Yeah.
02:14A lot.
02:14I'm just looking at 19 punchies in 40 at-bats.
02:18That's too many.
02:19That's one in every two.
02:20And he's got the one home run in the spring.
02:23So OPS of 830, that's great.
02:25And there's not a lot of guys like Matos is at 811.
02:29And, you know, Jesus Rodriguez, 964, my guy.
02:33They just sent him down.
02:34Yeah.
02:34They sent a lot of guys down.
02:36And Bryce, I think, is going to be a guy who I believe will start down in AAA.
02:41And my thing has always been if you're not going to give him absolute regular at-bats,
02:46and I do think that you want him to get regular time at first base as well,
02:50unless you're just going to pigeonhole him as a DH, I don't think you want to do that.
02:53And he's been good over there.
02:55Right.
02:55He looks really good defensively.
02:56So if you want to have him be your starting everyday first baseman, okay,
03:00then Devers is going to be your DH.
03:03And every day, I don't mean every single day.
03:05Yeah, Devers is going to be the main first baseman.
03:08Right.
03:09Bryce, if he were up, is going to be the main DH, and maybe you give him a game here
03:14and there.
03:15A game a week or something more like that over at first base.
03:17Yeah.
03:18Well, if that's the case, and I believe what you're saying, and I think that that is the plan,
03:22if that is the approach, then I'd rather have him be in Sacramento for a month or two and just
03:27play first base.
03:28Get more first base time and go ahead and, you know, make us bring you up again.
03:34Force your way in here.
03:35Because what you just laid out about 11 strikeouts and the fact that he strikes out every other official at
03:41-bat and the power numbers really aren't there.
03:44Not a lot of guys are launching the ball out of the park anyway.
03:47But go play first.
03:48Go ahead and, you know, not be in a pressurized spot.
03:51Can you imagine, and I know Aaron Judge and he have already talked, but, you know, he's over there at
03:56first base and Judge gets a walk.
03:58And now you've got 6'7 next to 6'7, and it's like, you know, our giant and your giant.
04:03I think there's a lot of pressure if he breaks with the big club.
04:06I just think that it's been so quiet.
04:10And there are some gymnastics that need to happen.
04:14And I don't know if everybody's watching this.
04:16You just kind of look at it.
04:18And maybe some of you either, I know, it's spring.
04:20So either you're not kind of dialed in yet.
04:22I don't know.
04:23Maybe some people don't really give a rip about the bottom of the roster.
04:26But there are gymnastics happening, and I feel like fans think that 30 people are going to make the Giants
04:34when they break camp.
04:35They break camp on Saturday.
04:37After the game, they break camp.
04:39That's it.
04:39Gone.
04:40They're coming to San Francisco.
04:42And they've got to figure this out.
04:44Matos and Encarnacion have no options left.
04:47Okay.
04:48Okay.
04:48They're on the club.
04:50Don't be so sure.
04:51Okay.
04:51I mean, DFA them?
04:53Or, like, are they on the phone right now trying to make a trade?
04:58Because Matos and Encarnacion, like, at least one of them is going to be on the roster.
05:04But, yeah, I don't think you're sneaking both of them through waivers.
05:07Okay.
05:07Okay.
05:09If you do want Drew Gilbert gyrating in the dugout, there's that.
05:14There's Will Brennan.
05:15There's Barracotto.
05:16There's these other outfielders who have been impressive.
05:19Gilbert's got options, right?
05:20Gilbert's got plenty of options.
05:22These guys, Barracotto, they've got options.
05:24But if Bryce Eldridge doesn't make the team, you have, count them up, zero left-handed bats on the bench.
05:30None.
05:31None.
05:32Yep.
05:32Okay?
05:33So that's where Will Brennan could come into play.
05:35And then you have Christian Koss and Casey Schmidt who are essentially the exact same person.
05:41And Tyler Fitzgerald, did he get a set?
05:44He's not going to make it.
05:46Okay.
05:46But he's kind of in that same boat of a utility guy.
05:49Koss and Schmidt can play all the positions.
05:51Schmidt can play anywhere in the whole infield.
05:54Koss can be, they're both super utility, short, second, third.
05:58They can do all of that.
05:59They're right-handed hitters.
06:00A little bit of pop, not a lot, but okay.
06:03But can you carry two of them?
06:05It's the exact same guy.
06:07Probably not.
06:08Especially if you're looking at, you know, you mentioned Encarnacion or Matt Matos.
06:12You'd love to have one of them, to have a pinch-hitting, right-hand-hitting bat.
06:17And I think Drew Gilbert probably gets sent out just based on the numbers game.
06:22And he hasn't had a great spring.
06:23But as you start to whittle it down, you get 25 guys, right, on the roster?
06:28Is that, you get 25?
06:30And so early in the year, you tend to keep an extra pitcher.
06:34So maybe you're only talking about, what, 13 guys on the position side or 14 at most?
06:39Because of the scheduling quirk, they could mess around with the pitching staff, at least
06:44out of the gate, because they play on Wednesday, and then they play on Friday, and then they
06:49play on Saturday.
06:50Two of your first five days are off days.
06:52So you can mess with the starting rotation a little bit if you want, and that might provide
06:57you an extra bullpen arm or whatever, so you can maneuver, but you're going to need to,
07:02that just, all that does is delay things a week.
07:04Right.
07:05And who's your backup catcher, would you say?
07:07Well, probably Susak, but there's two guys, there's two guys going for that behind Patrick
07:13Bailey.
07:14But Susak's a Rule 5 guy, so if he doesn't make the team, he's gone.
07:17He's going to be on the A's again.
07:19Gotcha.
07:19So that's probably who's going to make that position.
07:22A little roster gymnastics and, you know.
07:24Big time.
07:24Especially when you deal with guys who are out of options, guys you'd like to sneak through
07:29waivers, but probably won't make it.
07:30Well, and then the Eldridge thing is, here's what I would say.
07:33If he was, and I know that maybe they didn't know, but if they do, if they want more seasoning
07:40and they wanted him to start the year in Sacramento, they probably should have done more to lower
07:47the excitement and expectations of the fan base.
07:50You can make people lean a certain way.
07:53And so every interview, well, Bryce looks great.
07:57We know Bryce has an amazing future.
08:00We are absolutely open to him being here on opening day, but, but we have no need to rush
08:09this and Bryce is going to be a big deal in this organization for a long time.
08:13And so you come away with a conversation where you're like, Ooh, okay, maybe he'll make the
08:18team, but I've come expecting him to not.
08:20And I think that the way they they've talked about him at times, I do think that they've
08:24said stuff like that, but at times they haven't quite done enough to tell the fans, like,
08:29I don't know if he's going to make the team.
08:31Right.
08:32Because everybody is starting to do their mock lineup and he's in it.
08:36And I don't, I don't know if he's going to make the team.
08:39I really don't.
08:41It'll be fascinating.
08:42I mean, you have until Saturday, right?
08:44So two more days and then you go from there and you all of a sudden turn around and it's
08:48Wednesday and maybe he is in that opening night lineup against the Yankees down there
08:53at Oracle park.
08:54That'd be exciting.
08:55I mean, I would love it.
08:56I would love it.
08:57And I will tell you that some close to the org have suggested to me that he's going to
09:05make the team.
09:06But that was about a week ago.
09:08And is it on merit or is it on PR?
09:11Well, I mean, all things are on everything, right?
09:14I mean, if it's close, he is, he is their best, you know what I mean?
09:19He's one of their best players.
09:21He's just very raw, right?
09:23He's 21, but he's a game changer.
09:24Like he can be like when he hits the ball, ball go far.
09:28Right.
09:28And fans are excited to actually see him as a Higante.
09:32He's a good day.
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