Shawn Estes’ Hot Take: Bryce Eldridge Not Ready for Opening Day

0:00When you really need care, you need 24-7 access to a care team, not a maze of paperwork from a third party. Every day, America's hospitals and health systems show up for you. Navigating healthcare can fuel overwhelming, but you can count on real doctors, real nurses, real people, providing quality around the clock care when you need it most. They're in your corner. In communities across America, your neighbors, your lifelines, right beside you holding your hand and helping finances. That's what putting patients first actually means. Learn more at strengthinhealthcare.org Brought to you by the Coalition to Strength in America's Health Care. Now, back to Merphin Marcus. On the Sports Leader, streaming live on vSportsLeader.com and KNBR. The Sports Leader app, Merphin Marcus is sponsored by Big Allot. Grab a mug and tea proudly. 80s Friday feeling good. You got to go all over the board on an 80s Friday. So you got to go with like the old like 91x sound. If you ever did like sort of the sort of the sort of pop, punk, pre-green day, sounds of a drama rama.

1:00I bet you guys don't know this. 1985, drama rama. Anything, anything? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Drama rama? Yeah, it's going a little bit more on. They think the indie punk, post punk, poppy thingy thingy. I've got more knowledge on Johnny drama than I do drama rama. Turn it up, young tonne for a little. For the 80s crowd out there, yeah, yeah. There's just like kind of a homemade, wouldn't call it punk, punk-ish, punk-a-jacent. But always a little, as especially as being a San Diego and listening to 91x, they would play this like every hour there. So, do we have to, Sean? We got him! Connection made with Sean Estes. It is awesome to have Sean back on Giant's broadcast. Super great news that he will be doing more games this summer. We used to have him on all the time. I hope we continue to have him on all the time and he was having fun with Dwayne Kuiper on. How was it Tuesday night against the Mariner, with Connor Joe with the long hair, or Wednesday night, pardon me, Wednesday night. So, Sean, great having you back, man. Murph and Marcus, happy baseball season. How you doing, man?

2:00Hey, what's up, Sean? Hey, what's up, fellas? Great to, and I love that song. Yeah, you got to keep it going. Anything, anything. Please, drama rama. There you go, buddy. It's really from our kind of, our kind of era. You were in 91x, guy, if you were in San Diego, you were listening to 91x, the radio station? In San Diego? Yeah, yeah. No? I can't remember. No, I mean, I never lived down there. I played here for a couple of years, but I think that was when I stopped listening to FM. Let me ask you a question. What was it like playing? For me, my biggest thing about San Diego is great town, man. Got great friends down there. Some of my closest friends in life. But I feel like when I'm down there, I can't take life that seriously. It's so chill. And like grown men are wearing surf shorts and vans, and nobody's wearing pants. And it's like, nobody's like really serious. Like, is it like that down there? Like, it's kind of hard to take life seriously because everything's so chill. Yeah, I always thought there was a tough place to play. I mean, I felt like that, you know,

3:02trustee family showing up in the flip-flops and the in the board shorts and the long hair and his kids are entailed. Just got off the, just got done surfing a set. Yeah, I feel like it's hard to turn it up a notch, especially if you're a baseball player. You know, to ratchet up and get intense for a game. Just because it is so slow-paced. It's great weather, obviously, all year round. But yeah, I always felt like that when we went and played San Diego. You know, it almost felt like a vacation. And I was actually hoping it was one of those series that I had that I got to miss in the rotation. Because, you know, it really is. It's a great place to live. My best friend actually lives down there now so we get a chance to go out there quite a bit. Yeah, well, Sean, it might be a little difficult to get up and get ready to play down in San Diego. But definitely not difficult to get up and get ready to play in the World Baseball Classic. I don't know if you saw some of the highlights the other day of just an exhibition game between Detroit and the DR down in the Dominican Republic.

4:03How crazy the crowd was going. And then, of course, Logan Webb takes the ball today against Team Brazil as USA kicks off their tournament play. Just your thoughts about the style of play and the level of excitement going until World Baseball Classic. Yeah, well, I mean, I look forward to it every three, four years whenever they decide to have it seven years. But I think it's great. The fact that Logan Webb's on the bump and I get even more pumped up. And he's up against, you know, the Brazilian standout. Botaka Hashi. I'm sure you knew that Botaka Hashi was Brazil's ace. I thought that was kind of funny today. But he's a kid that pitched the mileage. Obviously, he has to have some Brazilian kind of background there. Probably as a parent, it's Brazilian. But I know I'm actually looking forward to it. Yeah, Dippa is there now. If you saw any highlights from the Japanese Chinese type hay game, that was pretty electric as well. Obviously, Shohei hitting the Grand Slame in the second inning,

5:07going three first, first, three in that game. But Tokyo down. Yeah, I mean, it is. I love this time of year. I think it's great. It's, I'm obviously all about Team USA. But it's going to be tough. This year's going to be tough. The DR is loaded. Japan's always really good. Obviously, if you have Shohei top your lineup and then Yamamoto is going to be slinging it for him to this year. So, and they're always sold. They just play great team baseball, great fundamental baseball. They won the last one. So, I think those are probably the three teams right now that stand out the DR USA in Japan. Yeah, agree. It's going to be any one of those three in the dog fight thing. Hey, here's a fun sports talk radio argument. Marcus and I had briefly touched on this yesterday. Who's currently on March 6, 2026, the best pitcher in the world? We have three choices. Or you can go off the board. Choice number one is Yoshi Yamamoto. Choice number two is Paul Schienz.

6:09Choice number three is Tarek Schuble. Oh, well, let's see. I'm going to rule out Yamamoto just for the mere fact that he's a Dodger. OK. Chuck him off that board. OK, there it is. Now, I mean, even if even if I were a Dodger fan, I would still think that it would be between Schuble and Schienz basically because they're both the reigning Sai Young award champs. So they are the two best pitchers in the Major League. So I think it's a I think it's the bait between those two. I would say right now, I would say Paul Schienz. And I would say Paul Schienz for the future as well. I just I just think that he's going to be just a dominant force for a long time. And I think it's because mechanically he is consistent as they get obviously stuff wise. And just his mental makeup, the confidence the suits on the mound. There's never he's not faced.

7:10He's just a really confident dude. And he he's got the body to withstand 200 plus endings every year. And he's going to be a guy that's just going to be able to strike out when he wants to. So I would say Schienz right now with Schuble would be a close second. But Yamamoto was pretty special last year in the playoffs. So that's a pass off to him. I got to give him a little bit of credit because what he did in the World Series last year was very Madison Bungarner asked. And I didn't think we'd see someone like Bungarner in the postseason for a long time. And it's only been about 10 years that we saw what we saw. We saw Yamamoto could be last last October. So yeah, I right now play off. Play off Yamamoto might be my pick. But I'm talking for 162, 33 starts. I'm going Paul scheme. Every day excessive delays and denials from big insurance keep patients from accessing the care they need. And when care is urgent, these delays can be disastrous.

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9:13We've seen stacked offensive lineups, but we've never really had truly the psi young winners, the best pitchers in baseball in their prime pitching for Team USA. And I know this is going to be a talking point in a couple of years, whether or not Rob Manfred allows major league baseball players to play in the 2028 Olympics. But from a pitching perspective, is the risk worth the reward for you to go and play for a team like Team USA? Without a doubt, without a doubt. And I understand I'm looking at this from player perspective. If I'm in the front office or if I'm supposed to pose you right now, I don't want any of my guys playing. I'm focused on the giant season and what it's going to take to win a world series. And obviously, that's the carrot. That's what you want. And you're looking at the risk that is going to, the risk of upsetting your guys to WBC. Obviously from an injury for standpoint, but also just a fatigue standpoint. And you're coming in this September and you need your horses to be clicking on all cylinders.

10:17And you just hope that there's not this fatigue from a WBC. But with that being said, I think if he asked Buster, he played for Team USA. I think he'd be the first to tell you that there's no experience like it. And if you have an opportunity to play for your country, you better take it. I think it's one of those things where you look back on your career and it might be a regret that you have, that if you didn't take that opportunity, because there's no guarantees that, say for example, Logan Webb's going to have a chance to pitch for a first for his country again. So you take that opportunity and do it. And it's a very select few again. You just mentioned, I mean, they got three start or starters, but Logan Webb's getting the ball opening day, opening night of the WBC. And he's pitching with the two reigning say young war champs. I mean, and for his country, I mean, that doesn't get you better in my opinion. I say I risk it. I think that a reward is much greater if you can go out there and you can win the goal.

11:20And the Olympics, if you can go out there and win the WBC this year for your country, I just think that there's no question on my mind that I'm taking. I'm taking that risk. Good stuff. Was Sean asked us back on Giant's broadcast this summer, we look forward to it very much and look forward to checking in with Sean. All right, we got a lineup out for this morning against the Reds after the Giant's had a day off yesterday because of the night game Wednesday. Obviously with so many players gone to the WBC, it's not a full lineup of regulars, but I am going to go through this and then we'll ask you about some of these guys, leaden off Jared Oliva. I think they say his name is center field. Dan Suset. All of them. All of them. Daniel Suset catching in the two hole. Willie Adomas in the three hole at short. My guy, Vic Barracotto in the cleanup spot in right field, Matt Chapman in the five hole at third base. Bryce Eldridge, get ready for your Bryce takes, Sean, because we're going to ask about him, bat and six at first base. Luis Matos, batting seventh and left, ask about him to Jake Holton, Los Gatos high school kid at DH batting eighth fresh off his Grand Slam. And a guy having a nice spring, I think just offensively and defensive Christian costs,

12:22batting ninth at second, the pitcher is Tyler Molly, his second outing as a giant. So I don't know, let's get right into Bryce Eldridge in the six hole. You saw him scald a ball over the short stops head that rolled all the way to the wall. You've also been around the batting cage, talking to people. I need the Sean Estes run down on Bryce Eldridge. And I'll frame it this way. Should he be on the opening day roster? Well, I got a couple of things. That's got a couple of things with it. One of them is very unpopular. And I would say that no, he shouldn't be on the opening day roster. And I only reason I'm saying that is, if he could go, I mean, he could, he could hit his way on this team without a doubt. If he, if he shows Buster Posey in company that he's ready to be on that opening day roster and he's going to help, he's going to make this giant's team better than I would say without a doubt. But I also look at it from this perspective, is that he doesn't have,

13:23and I know people are going to say, well, who cares? This is spring training. OK, this is the season. There's a lot of guys that you haven't heard of and that you never will hear of that have really, really good spring trainings. And it, it, it sets up for hitting. It really does. It sets up for offense. It sets up to get the quick infields. You got the ball that jumps temperature. You get the thinner air up here. I mean, spring training is, is, is typically, you know, you get some offense, especially guys that come into spring training ready to roll. Maybe you've played some winter ball. You get some big numbers from guys that probably don't belong in the big leagues. But that being said, I know they know that. And so they're looking at Bryce others and they're looking at his at bat. So looking at his at bat against left-handed pitching. They're looking at how is his plate discipline. Obviously, he hits the ball hard. And I think we all know that we can pretty much file that away is that when Bryce Elders makes contact, he's going to hit the ball hard. But, you know, how is he doing against left-handed

14:26breaking balls? How is he making adjustments in bat with good stuff against pitchers with good stuff, front line starters that he's going to have to see during the season? That's kind of what we're going to have to see. And I, if he checks off all those boxes between now and opening day, selfishly, I would say that, yeah, without a doubt, he helps this giant team become better. His at bat, his bat in the lineup, makes them better. Defensively, he doesn't make them better yet. But he can play DH. That's why I'm like, you know, he's serviceable at first base. But he's got work to do over there. You know, how many is he's going to allow in more runs and he's going to drive it, type of thing. So, I think personally, he needs to go to AAA from a defensive standpoint to just sharpen that up a little bit and then just to get some more AAA at bats. I mean, there's nothing bad that's going to come out of that.

15:27There is going to be things that are bad to come out of him being on the opening roster and struggling right away and not being able to hit big league pitching and getting into a hole and hitting a buck 30 for the first month of the season and confidence destroyed, even though he's got a ton of it and he believes in himself, that still happens. You start to doubt yourself a little bit. So, I don't think there's anything wrong with him being in AAA to start the year. And then when he gets to the big leagues, he's going to have to beat the door down to get there. But when he gets there, he's going to have a chip on his shoulder because he probably feels like he should have been on the team already, but he's also going to put the work in. He needs to do to become an everyday big league player and make an impact in the middle of a big league lineup. So, I personally think that he should start in AAA and I know that's very impopular, but, you know, because you do have some guys that, you know, that why not, that you could lose on this roster if they don't make the opening of your roster guys without options, that could potentially make your team better as well.

16:27And you don't lose Bryce Eldred by sending in the AAA, right? You lose some of these guys you may never get to see help your team become better if he's on that roster. Yeah, and we'll see Bryce Eldredge in the lineup today in hitting six over at first base. Murf also mentioned it's going to be Tyler Malley on the mound today. And I saw you guys got to interview Adrian Hauser the other night on the broadcast. I know the giants are relying a lot on those veteran arms to eat up some innings this year. So Sean, where is your level of confidence with those two veteran arms that they signed this off season? I haven't seen enough, but I know that what I, you know, we talked to Adrian Hauser. I mean, he completely revamped his whole lifestyle in the last year and a half. And I love that. I love guys that are just constantly trying to evolve and become better. And he realized that, you know, what he was doing wasn't allowing him to be consistent at the big league level. And, you know, he had a heck of a 11 starts with the light socks last year, pretty dominant on a really bad team.

17:27At that day during Hauser, we can see for 30 to 33 starts. I feel very confident. I mean, I do like the fact that he's kind of transformed as his body and that he's taking care of his body and that he's putting obviously help as a priority. I think stuff wise, he's got what it takes to be a big league starter, got it down. He knows how to pitch. He's got that experience. So I love Adrian Hauser this year. Maley, Valley, I don't know. I mean, I think he's a guy you still have to hold to breath a little bit as far as health goes. When he's out there, the guy knows how to pitch. John Miller and I did a game, you know, a few years back in Cincinnati. And he had a no hit or going against the Giants through seven innings. He uses dominating. And, you know, he's a guy that did pitch for the Rangers last year in a very tough place to pitch. And he had great numbers. He just knows what he's doing on the mound. He's not going to beat himself. He's not going to block bunch of guys. He's going to attack his own.

18:28I think pitching in a ballpark oracle even makes him better. But it's a matter of him going out there and making 25, 30 starts. You know, that I think that's the goal with him. So I love that I love those two editions because there's not a lot of question marks outside of probably Maley's health. That when these guys are on the mound and they're pitching every fifth or sixth day, did they give your team a chance to win? It's going to be wild to watch. We still got three more weeks to go. Actually, less than three are still opening days. So much to get. I mean, we can keep you on here for all day. We got to get going here. But what's your next broadcast? I'm done. I'm done with the broadcast until the season. I'm on that first long road trip to Baltimore Cincinnati and DC. The first long road trip of the season. They take a three game series right after they play the Yankees that they go to San Diego for three come home and then they hit the road for I think 10 days. So I'll be on that whole trip. Awesome.

19:29I'm going to look forward to that. It's going to be awesome. Yeah, I am too. I am too. Baltimore should be a pretty decent team this year. Yeah, and then Adria can go be competitive as well. Craig Albernass, Terry Francono is good to catch up with him and who knows what's going on with the nets too. So well, Sean, it's awesome, man. We'll have to check in with you again closer to the season to get your full take of how the spring finished up and how you think about the roster because I'd love to hear your take before we like right before opening night. So keep your phone on, buddy. We're going to call you in a couple of weeks, all right? I will. I think it'll be some pretty interesting decisions made on this opening day roster. Some some guys that probably people didn't think would be on the team. Oh, do you want to leave us with a teaser? One name that you think will maybe only the users. We'll see if I'm right in three weeks. Who is it? I can't tell. What a tea, what a tea, Sean. You better stay tuned in three weeks. We'll call you, all right, buddy? And then you have to be honest with us and tell us whether or not the guy you were thinking of made the team. Okay. I will. I'll write it down right now.

20:29I'll write down these papers. The mystery. The mystery, right? Yeah, we should have it. Yeah, we should have like text curly. And we'll reveal it in three weeks. You're the best, Sean. Great. Take care. All right, guys. Yes, Sean. Yes, it's the mystery, man. Who could he be talking about? Hmm. Who is it? Is it a blade toad well? That wouldn't be the price of that, we know that. Is it your boy Barracotto? Oh, okay. Damn. I'm going to be stayed tuned. How about that? I said to find out. Give us the name because yeah, can't tell. Yeah. Can't tell. How about us? I wonder if we did that on our show. Hey, we are going to we were going to talk about the warriors winning Houston world, but I can't talk about it. Yeah. I'm not going to tell you the score. The big hit is, of course, the big warrior win in Houston. Rick Berry is going to join us at 850, but 808 KBR is a phone number. How you guys reacted to that? Did you have the visceral feel of hell, yeah? I hate the rocket. It's still fun to beat them. I still see Chris Paul every time I look at the rockets. Did you have the feeling like, why are you doing this? I want you to be in the lottery. Did you have the feeling of, this is the win of the year. And I'm on board because when Steph comes back and Christopps comes back, we got a shot.

21:34Dot, dot, dot. 808 KBR is the phone number for the big hit on the sports leader. My guy, Vic Barracotto. I'm a Vic Barracotto guy.