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Bryce Eldridge, a Northern Virginia high school baseball prodigy, has announced his potential plans to take his talents out west.
The Vienna native, who stands 6-feet 7-inches tall, was drafted by the San Francisco Giants in this weekend’s MLB Draft, much to the dismay of Oriole's fans in the DMV who were hopeful to keep the hometown hero in town.
Oh what could have been.
"Here’s an idea, don’t sign and join the Orioles," one fan commented on the 18-year-old's Instagram post that went up Monday, July 10.
Instead of joining second-year phenom Adley Rutschman in Orioles' orange, Eldridge will be suiting up for the Giants, who took him with the 16th overall pick in the MLB Draft over the weekend.
The two-way player who was named the Gatorade Virginia Player of the Year was a standout at James Madison High School in Vienna this season, where he notched 66 strikeouts in less than 40 innings, while pitching to a 1.06 ERA.
At the plate, Eldridge was also no slouch, hitting .422 with eight home runs, a .649 OBP, and whopping 1.716 OPS, earning him the distinction of being the best two-way player in the draft.
Eldridge, who has been casually referred to as the "American Ohtani" after the Angels superstar slugger/pitcher, is committed to Alabama, though he has reportedly announced his intention to begin his pro career with the Giants.
According to MLB scouts, Eldridge ranks as above average in every fielding, hitting, and pitching metric, though it's unclear if the 6-foot-7 right-hander will continue to play both first place and star on the mound.
"On the mound, he shows feel for three pitches, with a fastball up to 95-96 mph, a very effective low-80s slider and the chance to have a solid changeup," MLB.com reported. "At the plate, the left-handed hitter has some serious raw power with leverage but has some feel to hit, with a relatively short stroke."
The 23rd ranked prospect by MLB, Eldridge has plenty of experience on the big stage, starring in the summer showcase circuit, as well as being a part of USA Baseball's gold medal-winning team at the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup, where he was the MVP of the entire tournament, where he hit a homer and got the save in the championship game.
Here are some fun facts about the newest member of the San Fransisco Giants:
- At 18 years old he stands 6-foot-7 while throwing as a righty and swinging from the left-side of the batter's box;
- His fastball tops out in the mid 90s, though the slider may be his best pitch as he continues to develop his repertoire;
- Eldridge is the first high-schooler drafted in the first round out of Northern Virginia since the Baltimore Orioles selected Westfield’s Brandon Snyder with the 13th pick in 2005;
- He was projected to possibly be picked by a team in the teens at the draft before falling into the Giants' lap;
- After suffering an injury his junior year, Eldridge recovered to become the Player of the Year in Virginia.
"It’s been no secret in the past few years that we like versatility in a lot of different ways,” Giants amateur scouting director Michael Holmes said to MLB.com. “For us, it’s about the athletic ability, the ability to impact the game. We felt like even as a hurt player could impact the game, both offensively and on the mound. We’ll put together a player development plan for Bryce moving forward.
"We’ll turn him over to (director of player development) Kyle Haines and his crew and allow them to kind of map that out for him. More than anything, we’re just really excited to put this type of talent into our system.”
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