James Madison High School alum Bryce Eldridge is getting another shot at the majors after he was called up yesterday (Monday) by the San Francisco Giants.
A slugging and pitching star for the Warhawks, which won two state championships during his career, Eldridge was drafted by the Giants in 2023 with the 16th overall pick.
The Giants called up their top prospect yesterday to try to help boost their sputtering offense. Eldridge went 0 for 2 with a walk while batting seventh as the designated hitter in the Giants’ 3-2 win over the San Diego Padres.
After going 0-6 at Philadelphia and Tampa Bay, San Francisco failed to hit a home run on a road trip of six games or more for the first time since 2008. The Giants are hoping Eldridge will provide a spark that has been missing all season.
Eldridge didn’t homer against the Padres, but the Giants finally got a longball — by Casey Schmitt in the first inning.
This is Eldridge’s second stint in the majors. He hit .107 (3 for 28) and had four RBIs in 10 games with San Francisco last year, and struck out 13 times and had seven walks. The 21-year-old first baseman/DH was hitting .333 with five homers and 22 RBIs with a .518 slugging percentage and .963 OPS in 30 games for Triple-A Sacramento in the Pacific Coast League.
The Giants entered Monday with a .243 team batting average, with the struggles coming throughout the lineup. Second baseman Luis Arraez and Schmitt had identical .308 averages, but were the only players on the roster batting above .300. Schmitt is also the only Giants player with more than three home runs.
Key veterans such as first baseman Rafael Devers (.214, 43 strikeouts), shortstop Willy Adames (.195), third baseman Matt Chapman (.246, one home run) and catcher Patrick Bailey (.152, one home run) have not played up to expectations.
The Giants also called up pitcher Trevor McDonald and catcher Jesús Rodriguez from Sacramento. To make room, outfielder Jerar Encarnacion was designated for assignment, reliever Erik Miller (back strain) was placed on the 15-day injury list and outfielder Will Brennan was optioned to Sacramento.
Other local students who’ve recently attracted the attention of MLB include Centreville’s Jonny Farmelo, who was picked by the Seattle Mariners in the same draft as Eldridge. He is currently in his second season with that organization’s high-A affiliate, the Everett Aqua Sox.
Last year, South Lakes High School graduate James Quinn-Irons and McLean’s Griffin Stieg were drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays and Mariners, respectively. Quinn-Irons is playing for the Charleston RiverDogs, the Rays’ single-A affiliate, while Stieg opted to continue playing at Virginia Tech instead of signing with Seattle.
