The San Francisco Giants for the second year in a row selected a two-way player in the first round of the 2023 Major League Draft when they chose Bryce Eldridge with the 16th overall pick. While we don’t know how long he will be a two-way player as a professional it is intriguing that the Giants followed up last year’s first round pick Reggie Crawford, also a two-way player, with another two-way player. Do the Giants hope to strike lightning and find their own Shohei Ohtani? Speaking of Ohtani, is this a sign that they have no real plans in pursuing him in free agency? Or is this Farhan Zaidi being smart and frugal by basically getting two players with one draft pick? Will this be the new trend? Many baseball players who get drafted are “two-way” players at the amateur level but are usually selected as one or the other once they turn pro. The first two-way threat that I can recall in recent history who played two-ways as a professional is Brendan McKay who the Tampa Bay Rays selected fourth overall in the 2017 Draft. Hunter Greene selected second overall by the Cincinnati Reds was also a considerable threat but was drafted as a pitcher and has been a dominant arm who quickly rose through the Minor Leagues and making the 2022 Opening Day roster for Cincinnati.
McKay has become an interesting career to follow. He won the John Olerud Two-Way Player of the Year Award all three years he played at the University of Louisville, and added the Golden Spikes and the Dick Howser Awards his junior year as well. Projected to go number one or two in the draft overall, McKay slipped to number four. McKay’s hitting has been less than stellar throughout his professional career, but his pitching has been great which led the Rays eventually to converting him to a full-time pitcher by 2022 with his 94mph fastball, a nice curve, and a sinking changeup.
McKay made his Major League debut in 2019 and split time between the big club and Triple-A Durham. He would get Covid early on in 2020 and then shut down shortly after his return due to shoulder tightness. McKay returned in 2021 starting only seven games before having surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome and then Tommy John in 2022. The Rays would release McKay after the 2022 season, only to resign him to a Minor League contract but he is out at least until some time in 2024 for his age 28 season, he still could have a lot to offer.
McKay is just one player, the first real project at the professional level from the amateur rankings here in the U.S. Ohtani and his greatness as both a hitter and pitcher is the obvious outlier, and Bryce could be the next success story. Bryce is a 6’7” 223-pound pitcher and first baseman from James Madison High School in Virginia. Bryce was considered the top two-way player of the 2023 draft class, and having been named Virginia’s Gatorade Player of the Year, after putting up some amazing numbers. On the mound he had a 1.06 ERA with 66 strikeouts in only 39.2 innings with his 96mph fastball and his above average grade slider. Bryce also had great numbers at the plate where he batted .422 with a .649 on base percentage, and eight home runs. Bryce’s size gives him considerable raw power from the left side, and with a short swing compared to most others his size he also makes solid contact at the plate. It will be interesting to see what the Giants decide to do with him and his performance on the mound and at the plate will ultimately be the deciding factor. This year’s Olerud Award winner Caden Grice of Clemson was selected 64th overall by the Diamondbacks, and while no one can project what any of these players future holds, it sure is fun to watch a player exceed at the professional level as a two-way player. UPDATE: The Arizona Diamondbacks announced that Grice will focus only on pitching.
Following up on my previous post, the River Cats did pretty good against the Aces in their series leading up to the 4th of July as they split the series 3-3. My biggest take away from that series about Reno isn’t that they aren’t an unbeatable team, it was just that they play very good fundamental baseball. No one on the team is really going to wow you, but they’re all just very good players who work hard and get the job done. Blaze Alexander, shortstop for the Aces, started the series going 2-14 before breaking out in the final game where he went 2-4 with a homerun. To say he was excited is an understatement. Kudos to Dominic Canzone as well who was called up to the Show for the Diamondbacks on July 7th.
The River Cats travel to Salt Lake for the 4th of July and would split the series 3-3 before going into the All Star break this week. They close out their first two second half series with a 6-6 record which puts them tied for fourth in the Pacific Coast League and only three games behind league leading Albuquerque who sit atop with a 9-3 record. The River Cats will take on Albuquerque for the first time this season July 25-30 in Albuquerque before they face off in Sacramento on August 29-September 3.
After the break, the Oklahoma City Dodgers will make a visit to Sutter Health Park in Sacramento for a three-game series starting on July 14th, followed up by six games against the Tacoma Rainiers before the River Cats go back on the road.
In other news, Heliot Ramos who is on a rehab assignment with the River Cats was named Pacific Coast League Player of the Week where he batted .483, with a 1.103 Slugging Percentage, 1.603 OPS, with 14 hits, nine of which were for extra bases, including four home runs, and 10 RBI.
Dugout Tales 