The 2026 Major League Baseball season was an ugly one for the San Francisco Giants, and even though fans may be feeling pessimistic -- and rightfully so -- there are still some things to get excited about. 

Toward the end of the season, multiple young players got a chance to show what they could do, which possibly bodes well for the future. However, one youngster who proved himself throughout the 2026 campaign was Bryce Eldridge.

Recently, ESPN MLB Insider Bradford Doolittle chose a silver lining for each MLB team that will not be participating in the playoffs. For the Giants, it was the rise of Eldridge.

The 21-year-old played a much bigger role with San Francisco in his second Major League Baseball season. Over 107 games and 386 at-bats, Eldridge logged a .269 batting average, a .364 on-base percentage, a .461 slugging percentage and an 825 OPS.

Eldridge also hit 17 home runs, which included the first of his MLB career on May 9 against the Pittsburgh Pirates. As Doolittle noted, Eldridge also had an OPS+ of 132, which has only been done by three other players that young in franchise history over at least 100 games: Mel Ott, Larry Doyle and Orlando Cepeda.

While Rafael Devers may have produced the best bat for the Giants in 2026, Eldridge provided plenty to be excited about as a designated hitter. Because of the direction that San Francisco’s season was going, President of Baseball Operations Buster Posey was compelled to trade high-level talent such as Luis Arraez and Heliot Ramos at the trade deadline.

Because of that, the onus cannot fall solely on Devers and other remaining veterans to provide the brunt of the offensive load. Eldridge is shaping up to be a key contributor, and the good news is that, given how young he is, he could be a mainstay in the franchise for years to come.

Doolittle finished his silver lining report on the Giants by emphasizing that Eldridge is one of the few answers in a sea of questions for the organization. There is a lot that Posey will need to address if he wants this team to enjoy success under his leadership.

Nevertheless, it is hard for 21-year-old players to break into MLB and make an immediate impact with their team. Eldridge only got to appear in 10 games during the 2025 season and struggled mightily in a small sample size. But now, there is a clear picture of the type of player he can be and the potential that he can still tap into.