Eldridge Horror

 

It's no secret that the Giants probably aren't a competitor this year. The tentpoles can't lift them, the back half of the rotation and the bullpen are weaker than they should be, Drew Gilbert still hasn't taken off and the top 3 NL West teams are just better. But they're not gonna go quietly. I still think the Giants are one of the most interesting bad teams in the league. It took them this long to figure out how to hit, and now that they're doing so, it's paying off wildly. 

For instance...Bryce Eldridge. 21 years old, first full year in the bigs. In 38 games, his .874 OPS is the highest on the team, higher than Casey Schmitt or Jung Hoo Lee. The guy has 6 homers and 16 RBIs, and he seems to be just getting started. He's a 6'7 slugging machine with some defensive ability but a huge contact ceiling. The hope is the Giants have found their answer to Aaron Judge after missing out on him a few years ago. So far this year he's been a refreshing power bat, and has aided Schmitt, Lee, Luis Arraez and Matt Chapman in keeping the lineup strong.

Then...it finally appears that Rafael Devers might be heating up. His WAR's out of the negatives, which is a start. Now he's got 12 home runs and 38 RBIs, which is much better. Three away from a team lead, that's palpable. I think he's just shaken off the rough 1st two months and is finally getting down to business, which is nice. I also want to point out some unsung guys, like Jonah Cox, playing a minor outfield role but bringing some contact help, as well as Victor Bericoto, who's hit 2 homers in the last 24 hours against the A's, one being a huge walkoff blast. Obviously there's some issues with this lineup, most notably a lack of a real power core [which is what happens when Devers slumps and Heliot Ramos gets hurt], but the runs can get scored in wild ways. Maybe Daniel Susac is the guy one day, maybe Eric Haase's the guy another day, maybe it's Jung Hoo Lee barreling a homer to the moon. There's variety, and that's a start. It's not just on one guy, that helps.

Getting Logan Webb back has helped the rotation, as he and Robbie Ray have been pretty sharp, and Tyler Mahle appears to be getting back to his old tricks. For some reason Landon Roupp hasn't been doing too well since pride night. He's lost his last few starts anyway, but his ERA's now over 4 somehow. Maybe that guy he was writing about on his cap had some funny way of teaching him a lesson about caring for others. But what do I know? Maybe Jeffrey Springs and his 5 ERA can give him a call and tell him to show some remorse. 

The Giants are onto a Braves series next. On paper that should be difficult because...I mean, they're the Braves, but they are in a bit of a cold spell, so it could be up to the Giants to see how things shake out. Maybe Bericoto can keep hitting home runs. It'd be weird if he went on a power tear and Baldwin didn't..

Coming Tomorrow- At the time, the fans didn't understand this trade, especially who the team was giving up. Judging that the guy they received is continuing his contact excellence from LA, I think they understand it now.