Things in “Charm City” have taken quite a turn in 2023.
Gone are the days of the Baltimore Orioles basically tanking to get prospects for the future. Now the team is sitting pretty with an American League-best record (74-46) and just 3.5 games behind the Atlanta Braves for the best record in all of MLB.
The turnaround in huge part stems from the influx of young talent and holdovers like former All-Star Cedric Mullins.
With Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman tearing it up in the majors, and Jackson Holliday the top prospect in MLB’s Pipeline lighting it up in Double-A ball with the Bowie Baysox, the Orioles now have a talented player doing the same with Low-A Delmarva.
Outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr., was drafted 17th overall by the team in last month’s MLB Draft, making it the fifth consecutive draft that the team drafted a position player.
Bradfield Has Been On Tear In Low-A
Days after being drafted, Bradfield Jr, appeared on Glenn Clark Radio.
“I’m joining an organization that, in the recent years, has been having probably the most success at developing hitters.,” the speedster said. “I’m excited to get with coaches to learn, to have some more guidance, to be able to really get that process and get to where I need to be.“
Based on his blazing hot start Bradfield Jr. seems to be living by those words. The speedy outfielder is batting .386 with an on-base percentage of .636 and 1.057 OPS. He’s accumulated 7 hits, 12 walks, 9 stolen bases and 1.000 FPCT.
He’s coming off a junior year where he batted .279/.410/.429 with 65 hits, 6 home runs, 34 RBI, 69 runs scored, 40 strikeouts and 37 stolen bases. While he was productive, statistically it was the worst year of his stellar collegiate career at Vanderbilt.
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Bradfield Jr’s Lack Of Power A Concern?
While he possesses all the tools, the one area many scouts questioned about EB Jr, is his lack of power. But his dad, Enrique Sr, says fret not because he makes up for it with elite speed.
“We always hear about the hitting tool, and the one hitting tool is being associated with power,” he said. “Since he was younger, we never were concerned with the power aspect of the game. His swing was tooled to use his speed.”
Bradfield Jr, has always been a contact hitter and while the power numbers may not reflect that, his other numbers do. In his Vanderbilt career the 6-foot-1 and 170 pounder tallied .311/.425/.447 with 224 hits, 15 homers, 108 RBI, 198 runs scored and 130 steals.
The Orioles landed a player with five-tool potential, and while he’ll probably never hit a lot of home runs, he’ll always hit for average and get on-base.
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