The 2026 San Francisco Giants, for all of their faults, can really put on a good show. They can also put on a bad show. Sometimes, before the show even starts, they pull the fire alarm in the theater. But after their first (continuous) series sweep of the season, they looked like a team that should have a chance in 2027. This team can be fun, even as they lurch toward 90-plus losses.Most of the coverage of the 2026 Giants has been negative, though, which is understandable. This means that it’s September, and we haven’t had a proper “check out what Bryce Eldridge is doing” article yet. Part of this was out of caution and superstition, as the best way to cause a rookie to fall into a deep, deep slump is to pay attention to him. Most of it, though, has been an understandable focus on everything going wrong with the Giants instead of what’s going right.So let’s switch it up and note something that’s going right. Extremely right. Bryce Eldridge looks like a player who will never see a minor-league ballpark again (unless on a rehab assignment), and that’s more than a side note in a disappointing season. A big red button with a placard reading “Giants lose 90-plus games, but Bryce Eldridge is He Who Was Promised” would have been awfully tempting to mash before the season started.Bryce Eldridge’s power has been as advertised. (Thearon W. Henderson / Getty Images)The mashing has been mostly done by Eldridge, though. While he’s slumped and struggled at times, as you would expect from any rookie, he’s had answers for the league’s counterattacks so far. Over the last few weeks, he’s been using the entire field like never before, taking what pitchers are giving him and hoping his strength will turn a few of the contact-oriented swings into accidental home runs. It’s been a pleasure to watch his development in real time.And if you take anything away from this season, it should be that what Eldridge is doing isn’t typical. He’s not an all-time outlier — a youngster in the Juan Soto/Mike Trout mold of historically precocious production — but he’s keeping impressive company.For once, I can explain this without stats that make your eyes glaze over. You don’t need numbers with acronyms or plus signs or ampersands for this one. We’ll start with the simplest statistic of all: the home run. Ball go over fence. Eldridge has 16 home runs, and you can have a lot of fun with the batters who’ve hit 15 or more at his age (21) or younger. There are a couple of sad, injury-marred careers and cautionary tales, but it’s mostly All-Stars, MVPs and Hall of Famers. And Bryce Eldridge.While your starry-eyed wishes of Eldridge hitting 40 home runs and running away with Rookie of the Year didn’t come true, it’s still impressive for someone as young as him to have as many homers as he does. That’s before you add the context of Oracle Park, which is still one of the toughest parks for left-handers to hit home runs. Even though he might finish with fewer than 20 on the season, he’s still had a relatively uncommon power output for a 21-year-old.