Bryce Eldridge

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Bryce Edward Eldridge

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Biographical Information[edit]

Bryce Eldridge was the hero of the USA's conquest of a gold medal at the 2022 U-18 Baseball World Cup in Florida. A two-way player, he scored two, drove in three and closed out the game with a shutout inning to lock up Cup MVP honors when the USA defeated Taiwan, 5-1, in the final game on September 18th. He was brilliant on both sides of the ball all tournament, playing 1B or DH when not pitching, as he drove in 5 runs in a 9-3 win over the Netherlands in the opening game on September 9th, and picked up the 8-3 win over South Korea the next day. On September 16th, he drove in 2 runs and saved a 7-5 win over Mexico before his heroics in the finale. In addition to the MVP award, he was named the designated hitter on the tournament All-Star team. He hit .316/.517/.842 with 3 homers, 10 runs and 13 RBI in 8 games and allowed one hit and two walks in three shutout innings, fanning five. He tied for third in the Cup in runs (two behind teammate Aidan Miller), led in homers (one ahead of Miller and Eric Guevara), led in RBI (by 3), tied Dae-seon Jeong for 4th in total bases (16) and was 3rd in slugging (after Miller and Jeong).

Born and having grown up in the northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, DC, he was selected 16th overall in the 2023 Amateur Draft, by the San Francisco Giants. It was unclear at the time where he would play in the pros, and many observers thought that he could be the next Shohei Ohtani given his rare combination of talents. However, the Giants decided to have him focus on his hitting for the time being, using him as a rightfielder and DH in his first professional season, which he split between the ACL Giants Orange and San Jose Giants of the California League. He received a quick promotion after slugging .647 in 16 games in the Arizona Complex League. he then played another 15 games for San Jose, hitting .293.

In 2024, Bryce played 116 games spread among four levels, starting in Class A with San Jose and finishing up in AAA with the Sacramento River Cats. He also played in the 2024 Futures Game. In between, he also appeared in High A and AA and hit a combined .291 with 23 homers and 92 RBIs, confirming his standing as a top prospect. After the season he was named an All-Star in the Northwest League and in High A. He started 2025 in AA with the Richmond Flying Squirrels (he had only played 9 games at that level the previous season, and another 8 in AAA) and hit .280 in 34 games. He was promoted to AAA at the beginning of June, but went on the injured list at the end of the month and did not return until July 18th, having played 2 games on a rehabilitation assignment in the ACL in the meantime. In 66 games for Sacramento, he hit .249 with 18 homers and 63 RBIs, and on September 14th, the Giants announced that he would be called up to the majors for the final two weeks of the season, with the Giants still in the running for a spot in the postseason. He made his debut the next day, starting at DH, but went 0 for 3 with a strikeout in an 8-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Further Reading[edit]

  • Anthony Castrovince: "Could 6-foot-7 'scary-looking dude' end up a 2-way star like Ohtani? With 1.06 ERA and 1.716 OPS, No. 16 overall Draft pick will follow superstar's footsteps", mlb.com, July 9, 2023. [1]
  • Maria Guardado: "Giants draft another two-way player in Eldridge", mlb.com, July 10, 2023. [2]
  • Maria Guardado: "Giants to call up top prospect Eldridge for playoff push", mlb.com, September 15, 2025. [3]
  • Maria Guardado: "At 9 years old he asked Verlander for a selfie. Now they are teammates", mlb.com, September 22, 2025. [4]

Related Sites[edit]

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