As the months pass and the flowers begin to bloom, baseball season is upon us. As of writing, the Giants are 18 games into a seemingly impressive spring training start, boasting a 15-3 record. However, a record doesn’t tell the full picture.

As we look to the final stretch of spring training and the start of the regular season, there are still plenty of questions that plague this roster, and also some standout highlights that we should continue to look at. Let’s begin with arguably the most pressing question for most Giants fans: What’s up with Bryce Eldridge? 

Is Bryce Eldridge ready for The Show?

Eldrige, the 21-year-old first baseman, is one of the best Giants prospects in a long time, and the team is expecting big things from him in the future. In his short, 28 at-bat call-up last season, he batted an ice-cold 0.107, knocking in only three hits and batting his way to a 42 OPS+.

However, that was only a short stint, and his underlying numbers were incredible. He had a top-tier average exit velocity, hard hit rate, and barrel rate.

In short, despite playing objectively poorly, the underlying metrics seemed in his favor. Not to mention he was only 20 years old, tying the legendary Madison Bumgarner and Chris Speier for the youngest Giants player to debut since Mel Ott back in the stone age.

Going into this season, manager Tony Vitello and GM Buster Posey had stated that Eldridge’s spring training performance would be paramount in determining whether he starts his 2026 campaign in the big leagues.

And boy, has Eldridge made that decision difficult. In 34 plate appearances in the Cactus League, Eldridge has batted 0.259 with a 0.412 OBP and 0.967 OPS. While these numbers might seem more reminiscent of Juan Soto than a 21-year-old, we must remember this is spring training, and both the quality of player and intensity are diminished.

However, these numbers are still pretty good. Not good enough to stamp him on the 26-man roster to start the year, but not bad enough to cross him off the list. Once again, he is still hitting the ball hard, but the final pieces haven’t fallen into place. For Eldridge, it looks like it will come down to what he can do in the final remaining games. However, Eldridge isn’t the only highly touted Giants prospect to look out for. 

Last chance for Luis Matos?

To say Luis Matos has struggled in the majors would be an overstatement. While he has played at the rate of a below-average player, sporting a -0.7 WAR over his career, he hasn’t been outright bad. He is getting older, and every year it seems like we draw closer to the Matos make-or-break season.

In his 172 at bats last year, he looked slightly better, but not the caliber of player the Giants need. However, he hit well in AAA (0.293 BA, 0.510 SLG), and so far, he’s off to a strong start in Scottsdale, batting to the tune of a 0.321 average and only 1 strike out in 32 plate appearances.

Once again, we must remember this is spring — the real game is a whole lot different. While I am cheering for his success, Posey is beginning to lose patience. Many speculate that if he isn’t looking like a productive member of the team, he might be packaged in a trade or waived. It looks like now or never for Matos. 

Can Hayden Birdsong keep the ball in the yard?

Another name of note to most fans is Hayden Birdsong. A kid who previously looked like he could make leaps and bounds into the rotation, he has fallen off considerably in recent years, spending most of his time in the minors.

Birdsong has always been an interesting archetype of a pitcher. He was never going to get you a clean six innings. He was never the guy to look to when trying to play some shutout ball. He has always, and most likely will always be, a strikeout guy.

However, when that strikeout stuff seems to come with conceding a run every other appearance, the value is significantly diminished. In his lone 2.1 innings in spring training, Birdsong got lit up for eight runs.

I don’t project Birdsong to ever really reach the big leagues as a starter, and at best, I see him used as a long reliever for a couple of innings. But that all rests on the major caveat that he is able to actually keep the ball in the yard. For now, he looks like someone to sit on and wait. Just like Matos, his time might be running out. 

Michael Fulmer’s bounce-back opportunity

One more name on the pitching front to look out for as we head into the season is Michael Fulmer. A former Rookie of the Year, Fulmer has changed his style from weak contact to swing-and-miss. After having a promising start to his career derailed by injuries, the reinvigorated Fulmer joins the Giants, looking to prove himself after Tommy John surgery.

While he has only pitched eight innings this spring, he has looked pretty strong, recording a 2.25 ERA, with both runs coming way of the solo moonshot. In a relatively open backend of the bullpen, Fulmer could look to earn his place by pitching big innings for the orange and black. 

Keaton Winn bullpen boost on deck?

While we are on the topic of pitchers, I’ll offer up one last name for your memory. Keaton Winn has looked playable in the formative years of his career, and he could boost the backend of the rotation with the likes of Landon Roupp. In many ways, Winn reminds me of Kevin Gausman, a guy with a mid-90s fastball and a great splitter.

In his four innings this spring, Winn has only surrendered one run and struck out five. Not bad at all. While I’m not looking for Cy Young level stuff from Winn, he definitely could be a piece that pads the rotation for the team this season. 

World Baseball Classic musings starring Luis Arráez

What article would this be without mentioning the World Baseball Classic? Some — scratch that, most — of our star players are spending their time playing internationally to start their season. So, let’s give a quick overview of what we’ve seen.

In four games, Luis Arráez is doing Arráez things with a 0.500 batting average. But what surprises me most is how many un-Arráez things he’s doing — two home runs (he hit a total of 8 last season) and a 1.700 OPS.

In his four games, Jung Hoo Lee has batted a cool 0.278, nothing to be ashamed of considering the difficulty of his group. Heliot Ramos, on the other hand, has looked absolutely shambolic. For a man looking to break the now-infamous streak that no Giants’ left fielder has started back-to-back opening days in years, he is not looking ready. A 0.077 average and only one hit do not look to wonderful when we consider how important he will be to the team this year.

The Posey and Vitello era must start with smarts

As the season draws near, the Giants still have plenty of questions to answer. However, for now, they should focus on the games and performances ahead of them in spring training.

San Francisco needs a smart conclusion to the warm-up, where Vitello and Posey figure out who’s major league-ready and who needs a couple more months in the minors, will surely lead to better results for the team. Let’s hope they do that.