This story was excerpted from Maria Guardado's Giants Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Top Giants prospect Bryce Eldridge always wondered how he’d measure up to Yankees superstar and fellow 6-foot-7 slugger Aaron Judge.
On Tuesday, he finally got to find out.
Eldridge played eight innings at first base in the Giants’ 15-1 exhibition loss to Team USA at Scottsdale Stadium, which meant he got to stand directly next to Judge after the American captain lined a two-run single off right-hander Adrian Houser to open the scoring in the top of the first inning.
“I was just curious what everyone thought when I got back in the dugout,” Eldridge said. “I kept asking everyone. I was like, ‘Who's taller?’ He had a helmet on, and he was standing on the bag, so everyone said he towered [over] me, but I think we're a pretty similar height. He might be a little bit thicker than I am.
“Now I know how people feel when I stand next to them.”
Eldridge and Judge had a chance to talk about more than just their height, though.
“Judge had a conversation with me,” Eldridge said, “He said, ‘We hope to see you here on the next [World Baseball Classic] go-round. I don't know if he was just trying to be super nice to me or if he meant it, but I'll take that. It's just cool. Those guys, they follow the game, and they respect the young guys, which is awesome.”
Eldridge, 21, is trying to win a spot on the Opening Day roster this spring, but it’s easy to see him earning an invitation to play for Team USA in future iterations of the WBC if he develops into the middle-of-the-order bat the Giants expect him to be.
“It's something that I always want to do, represent our country,” Eldridge said. “I was very grateful to do that in ‘22, to play on the 18-U team. That was an experience I'll never forget. That's just something I want to continue to do.”
Eldridge went 0-for-3 while batting eighth for the Giants, though he worked an impressive at-bat against reigning National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes in the bottom of the third.
Eldridge fell behind, 0-2, and then evened the count to 2-2 before ripping a 97.2 mph fastball to center field. The ball came off his bat at 111.9 mph -- the top exit velocity in the game -- but Eldridge ended up being robbed by Platinum Glove winner Byron Buxton, who raced back toward the warning track to make the catch.
“Obviously, he's one of, if not the, best pitchers in the game,” Eldridge said of Skenes. “I think those types of guys kind of bring out the best in me. Obviously, he has great stuff. He kind of fooled me on one pitch. He threw me a pretty good changeup, but I think I was able to just reset and earn another good pitch over the zone. I probably should have hit it anywhere else on the field other than to Byron Buxton, but that's been my luck.”
Eldridge did have the good fortune to meet his childhood idol, Bryce Harper, before the game. A native of Vienna, Va., Eldridge grew up watching Harper star for the Nationals and credited the two-time National League MVP with helping him fall in love with the game.
“It was awesome,” Eldridge said. “I got to meet him when he was standing behind the turtle over here in BP and basically told him he was the reason I love playing baseball. He's the person I mimicked growing up, and he was my idol. I think he really appreciated that.”
Maybe it’s because they share a first name, but Eldridge said he didn’t have to introduce himself to Harper during their first interaction on the field.
“He knew who I was,” Eldridge said. “That’s enough for me.”
Harper’s thoughts on Eldridge?
“Obviously, he’s a high prospect and a really good player,” Harper said. “Good swing. He had some pretty good numbers, pretty good years in the Minors. The swing he put on it today was pretty good there to center field. Obviously, the sky is the limit for his future.”
Eldridge wasn’t the only Giants prospect who got to rub elbows with Team USA’s stars. San Francisco also brought over eight farmhands to help back up the American squad on Tuesday, including 2025 first-round Draft pick Gavin Kilen.
The 21-year-old Kilen entered the game to play third base -- a position he hadn’t manned since his freshman year of college -- in the bottom of the sixth and ended up chipping in with an RBI single the following inning.
"I was like, man, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity," Kilen told reporters after the game. "It was really cool. What a surreal opportunity and experience to get out there and play with these guys and get to compete a little bit."