WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup MVP Bryce Eldridge back in MLB action

The San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball (MLB) recalled the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2021 MVP, Bryce Eldridge, from the Triple-A team.

Eldridge and catching prospect Jesus Rodríguez made the MLB club "infuse some youth and life into a team that just completed an 0-6 trip to Philadelphia and Tampa Bay," according to MLB.com.

The Giants' President of baseball operations, and former All-Star catcher, Buster Posey, told MLB.com that the decision resulted from "a combination of watching Bryce and watching Jesus, and then the other piece is just how we've performed offensively and trying to jumpstart our offence a little bit. We certainly have under performed."

It partly worked. Eldridge, who batted seventh and played designated hitter (DH), went 0-for-2, but the Giants defeated the San Diego Padres, 3-2.

The Giants' manager, Tony Vitello, had decided after Spring Training that Eldridge needed more minor league at bats.

"He was up to the challenge," commented Vitello in an interview. "He had the exact reaction that you want to see."

In 30 games for Sacramento, Eldridge went 38-for-114, a .333 batting average, with five home runs and 22 RBIs. When reporters approached him for a comment on the call up, he replied: "It's the right moment. I'm feeling sexy at the plate right now."

Born in 2004 in Fairfax, Virginia, Eldridge was attending Madison High School when he led the USA to the WBSC U-18 Baseball World Cup 2021 title (played in 2022) in Sarasota (FL, USA) with three home runs in eight games. He pitched out of the bullpen on three occasions, including the World Championship Final against Chinese Taipei. and gave his team three scoreless innings, while striking out five. USA won the final 5-1, and Eldridge earned MVP honours.

At the end of the 2022 season, USA Baseball honoured Eldridge with the Richard W Dick Case Award, given annually to the USA Baseball athlete of the year in honour of its founding Executive Director and CEO.

The Giants selected Eldridge at No. 16 in the 2023 draft and immediately decided to develop him as a left-handed slugger. Eldridge played 62 games in his first professional season, including 15 at Single-A. In 2024, he went from Single-A to Triple-A, and the Giants made him their Minor League Player of the Year.

After splitting the 2025 season between Triple-A and Double-A, Eldridge received the call to the MLB club. He made his debut for the Giants on September 15 and went 3-for-28 through the end of the season.

Eldridge is the Giants' No. 1 prospect and MLB's No. 20.