WASHINGTON — A high school baseball phenom had one of his biggest dreams realized Sunday evening, surrounded by family and friends. James Madison High School graduate Bryce Eldridge became a first-round MLB draft pick, as the San Francisco Giants selected the two-way player as the 16th overall pick in the draft.
Eldridge chose to take the life-altering call in his hometown of Vienna, at the Bear Branch Tavern.
"The last few days haven't been real," Eldridge said just minutes before the draft began. "My whole life has been leading up to this point."
The right-handed pitcher/ first baseman and designated hitter solidified himself as one of the most dominant two-way high school players in the sport, which had many scouts, baseball general managers, coaches and fans comparing him to MLB's greatest two-way player, Shohei Ohtani.
Ohtani, nicknamed "the unicorn," became the first player in the modern era to qualify for both pitching and hitting leaderboards in a single season. In a conversation with WUSA9 in October, Eldridge expressed his gratitude for the comparison
"It’s kind of surreal," Eldridge said of the comparison. "I mean, you get compared to the guy who’s easily the best player in baseball -- he’s the first one to hit and pitch at a Cy Young/MVP level -- so it’s pretty cool."
Eldridge battled an ankle injury early in his senior season, after a hamstring issue in his junior year, but made it back in time to help his team win the state championship. On the mound, he ended the season with 1.06 ERA with 66 strikeouts through 39.5 innings. He touches 96 mph with his fastball, and throws an effective low-80s slider.
At the plate, he hit .422 racking up 8 home runs, a .649 on-base percentage (OBP) and became the first JMHS player to win the Gatorade Virginia Baseball Player of the Year award.
The 6-foot-7 Virginian is beating the odds, with statistics showing less than 1% of Little Leaguers ever make it to the MLB.
“I haven’t had a kid with the tools that [Bryce] has, and the size he has," says Madison head coach Mark "Pudge" Gjormand. "He's the only one I’ve had like this."
Pudge has coached Madison High School baseball for nearly three decades, and has been an instrumental figure in developing Eldridge into the player he is today. He also helped him navigate the draft prospect process as Eldridge sat down with 28 teams in the span of three weeks, with Sunday night cementing that it was all worth it.
“I’m prepared for it," the high schooler said. "I have a good idea of what this whole thing is going to be like. This is my dream and I’m going to take advantage of every opportunity I get."