“American Ohtani” — Alabama Signee selected 16th Overall in MLB Draft

Bryce Eldridge, the jewel of Alabama’s 2023 baseball class, was drafted 16th overall in the 2023 Major League Baseball draft. Eldridge, from Madison High School in Vienna, VA, stands 6’7” and weighs 225 pounds. The San Francisco Giant is the National Two Way Player of the year that many are comparing to Shohei Ohtani.

Eldridge is a right handed pitcher with a fastball reaching 97 miles per hour, and left handed hitter that hits with prodigious power. Playing for team USA this summer Eldridge was named MVP for the under-18 World Cup. Eldridge hit .316 with three home runs and 13 RBI while allowing no runs and one hit in three innings pitched.

The Giants selected another two way player last year, Reggie Crawford, and are one of the teams that are most likely to allow Eldridge to do the same at the next level. It was always a long shot that Alabama could get Eldridge to campus and with a slot value of $4,326,600 that shot has pretty much evaporated.

The Tide will have more current players and incoming guys drafted over the next two days of the draft. Junior left handed pitcher Grayson Hitt will likely be the first current Bama player selected despite having undergone Tommy John surgery this spring. Another junior LHP, Hunter Furtado, and junior outfielder Andrew Pinckney should follow.
We will be back to update as the draft continues.

Roll Tide #BamaBaseballFeverCatchIt!