Alabama 1B/RHP commit Bryce Eldridge selected by San Fransisco Giants in 2023 MLB Draft

The wait is over for first baseman and right-handed pitcher Bryce Eldridge, as the Alabama baseball commit has been selected with the No. 16 overall pick in the first round of the 2023 MLB Draft by the San Fransisco Giants.

There’s no doubt that Eldridge has an MLB-ready frame, towering at 6-foot-7, 233 pounds. He played his high school ball at James Madison high school in Vienna, Virginia, where he had a 9-0 record on the mound with a 1.06 ERA and 66 strikeouts, also walking just eight batters in his 39.2 innings pitched his senior season.

Offensively, he ended the season with a .422 batting average along with eight home runs and 23 RBI as a left-handed hitter, making him one of the most intriguing two-way players in this year’s daft class.

Eldridge signed to Alabama last fall, and it will be interesting to see what the future holds for Virginia’s Gatorade Player of the Year.

More on the 2023 MLB Draft

The 2023 Major League Baseball Draft will begin during All-Star week, with the first two rounds getting underway at 7 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 9. Rounds 3-10 will then begin at 2 p.m. ET on Monday, July 10, with rounds 11-20 starting at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, July 11.

This year’s MLB Draft is a historic one, as a draft lottery was used to determine the order for the first time. The Washington Nationals, Pittsburgh Pirates and Oakland Athletics each had a 16.5% chance to receive the No. 1 overall pick. Ultimately, Pittsburgh won the right to have the first selection, with Washington finishing right behind them at No. 2. Oakland, however, fell all the way down to No. 6 overall.

While the MLB Draft is always unpredictable, the consensus is that this year’s top prospects both hail from LSU, who won the 2023 College World Series. Pitcher Paul Skenes and outfielder Dylan Crews headline this year’s class, which is considered a deep one.

Within the first ten rounds of the draft, each slot is assigned a certain value. Each team has a bonus pool that they are able to spend on these picks, and players will sign at, above or below their assigned slot value.

In rounds 11-20, there is no assigned slot value and MLB teams are free to spend up to $150,000 to sign their picks from the second half of the draft. If they exceed the $150,000 mark, that added amount will be deducted from their bonus pool.

Following the final day of the 2023 MLB Draft, selected players will have until August 1 to sign a contract.