MLB Draft: SF Giants select two-way high school standout Bryce Eldridge at No. 16 overall

For the second consecutive year, the San Francisco Giants used their first-round draft pick on a two-way player.

With the No. 16 overall pick in the first round of the MLB Draft on Sunday, the Giants selected Bryce Eldridge, a two-way player from James Madison High School in Virginia.

The 18-year-old first baseman/right-handed pitcher was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Virginia and helped win gold with Team USA at the U-18 Baseball World Cup back in September. As a senior, he posted a 1.06 ERA with 66 strikeouts in 39 2/3 innings while hitting .422 with eight homers and an eye-popping 1.716 OPS.

The 6-foot-7, 234-pound left-handed hitter was committed to the University of Alabama, but the Giants will hope to change his mind. The slot signing bonus for the No. 16 overall pick this year is $4.3 million.

According to MLB Pipeline, Eldridge was the 23rd-best player in the draft and the highest-ranked two-way player, though talent evaluators were leaning towards considering him as a hitter during his senior year.

On the mound, Eldridge has a fastball that sits in the mid-90s and an above-average slider to go with a still-developing changeup.

Here’s what MLB.com wrote about his ability as a position player: “He has some serious raw power with leverage but has some feel to hit, with a relatively short stroke. He has soft hands at first base and moves around the bag well, though he is athletic enough with a plus arm where right field could be a very viable option for him.”

The Giants also selected a two-way player with their first pick last year, when they selected Reggie Crawford, who was coming off Tommy John surgery while playing with the University of Connecticut.

Now starting every fifth day and throwing in the high-90s with Single-A San Jose, Crawford is capped at two innings per outing. He’s allowed to hit once a week between starts, though he hasn’t appeared in a game as a hitter since June 14. When he is in the lineup, it’s at designated hitter.

The selection of Eldridge does represent a deviation for the Giants in that they’d previously drafted college players with their first-round pick in four straight years.

It’s been more than a decade since the Giants made a first-round selection that produced an All-Star. They were red-hot from 2007 to 2009, when three of their four first-round picks went on to have incredible careers: Madison Bumgarner (No. 10 overall in 2007), Buster Posey (No. 5 overall in ‘08) and Zack Wheeler (No. 6 overall in ‘09).

Their best first-round pick since Wheeler was Joe Panik (No. 29 overall in ‘11).

Their last 14 first-round picks have combined to produce just 11.9 WAR total, though the Giants have logged some quick returns on catcher Patrick Bailey (No. 13 overall in ‘20) who has already been worth 1.6 WAR this season.

The Giants have two more picks on Day 1 of the draft and will select No. 52 overall (their second-round selection) and No. 69 overall (free agent compensation for Carlos Rodón).