Since he was drafted in the first round in 2023, Bryce Eldridge has been seen as the San Francisco Giants’ first baseman of the future.

There’s just one problem — he wasn’t a first baseman in high school. He was a two-way player. So, as he’s progressed through the organization his bat has fueled his rise. He’s played the position, but he’s in the Majors because he has exceptional slugging potential. San Francisco needs him to be an adequate first baseman.

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Enter Ron Washington. The new Giants infield coach, whose “It’s incredibly hard” line from the film “Moneyball” explains playing first base perfectly, has turned Eldridge into his pet project. Recently, he told KNBR Radio that the progression of Eldridge from one day to the next told him a lot about what the top prospect wants out of his career.

Ron Washington on Bryce Eldridge

More Ron Washington gems…

On Bryce Eldridge learning how to play 1B: “[Thursday] morning the weather was biting. He came in to work and he had his head up his butt … Well, I called him out … This morning he came out there and he was perfect.”

On how Rafael Devers looks… pic.twitter.com/rfxRSf1TXY

— KNBR (@KNBR) February 23, 2026

One morning, the weather was “biting,” as Washington put it. It was cold. Eldridge was feeling it. More important to Washington, it was showing up in his body language. The rookie let the weather affect the workout. So, Washington let him know about it.

“I wasn’t embarrassing him, but the way I roll is I tell you the truth,” Washington said. “I was just letting him know that his body language is telling us this cold is getting to him. Once I dropped that, he woke up and finished on a good note.”

The next day, Eldridge returned to the practice fields in Scottsdale, Ariz., and he and Washington got to work again. He said it was clear the 21-year-old got the note.

“He was perfect,” Washington said. “There is no perfection in the game of baseball but this morning everything he did was perfect. Every now and then as an athlete you have that day, if you’re a good athlete, you have that perfect day where you do everything right and everything falls into place.”

But Washington wasn’t done dropping knowledge. The former Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels manager never is done dropping knowledge.

“After he finished the last thing I told him, ‘Carry that into your day and then you carry it into tomorrow. That’s how your preparation has to be,’” Washington said. “Then he showed up on that couch with a big smile on his face talking about the work we did.”

Eldridge is expected to be a part of the equation at both first base and designated hitter, along with Rafael Devers. At the plate this spring Eldridge is already off to a good start. If the glove catches up fast, San Francisco has a great opportunity to leverage both players in the lineup every day.