Even though he’s been struggling throughout the season, manager Craig Counsell still believes in the one-time Gold Glove winner.
“He’s in a tough stretch right now, for sure,” Counsell told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “His at-bats have decreased over the last month. He’s struggling right now, but I still think he’s a player that’s going to impact us at some point and impact us in a big game.”
“And we’re going to keep counting on him.”
Now don’t get it twisted, our MLBbro can ball and he’s shown that in prior seasons.
This just happens to be one of those seasons where nothing seems to be going right for him offensively. During the month of September, he has registered only one hit in 13 games.
Throughout the season, Bradley has seen his playing time diminish and a big reason for that is his offensive struggles.
Bradley has yet to find a solution to his problem at the plate and that’s something the Brewers are really focusing on.
“I think what makes it more puzzling is he’s had so much more success,” Counsell said. “When players are in slumps, we’re always looking for answers and it always feels like we can’t find the answers. We haven’t been able to solve it yet.”
And Counsell is right, Bradley has had more success in previous seasons.
Last season with the Boston Red Sox, he finished with a .283 batting average with seven home runs and 22 RBI through 55 games.
Going back to 2016 when he was named an All-Star, he finished that season with a .267 batting average with 26 home runs and 87 RBI.
Since that 2016 season, Bradley’s numbers have dropped but he’s still been a dependable player.
His glove has been a big reason why he’s still seen some action in games, despite his struggles at the plate.
There’s a reason why he has a Gold Glove award under his belt. This brother can flat out go get it in the outfield.
At 31, Bradley can still put those legs to good use, even if he’s struggling at the plate.
Having Bradley in the outfield is very beneficial and he will most likely be a key defensive player for the Brewers going into the playoffs.
But the question is, will he be able to have an offensive turnaround at the plate come postseason?
His last postseason appearance came in 2018 with the Boston Red Sox and that was the year he was a part of the World Series-winning team.
He batted .200 during that postseason and was named American League Championship Series MVP.
The Brewers will find a way to use Bradley come playoff time and he’ll have a chance to show the world that he can still swing it, especially in the clutch.
The 2021 season has been an up and down battle for Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. He’s had some moments at the dish, but they have been few and far between.
When it comes to hitting, he’s struggled a lot at the plate but the Brewers remained faithful that he would turn things around.
Well recently, Bradley Jr. has done just that. At the end of June, Bradley Jr. had hits in three out of four games to end the month and he carried that into the beginning of July.
The former All-Star had a five-game hitting streak that ended on July 5. During the hitting streak, he posted a .350 batting average with a double and three RBI.
One area that Bradley Jr. continues to excel in has been in the field. That’s a big reason why he continues to be in the lineup despite his lack of hitting this season.
Going into June, Bradley Jr. had a .160 batting average. He was able to raise that to .165 at the end of the month.
That’s progress right there and that’s something you want to see if you’re Bradley Jr. Our MLBbro has struggled since the start of the season offensively and that’s something he’s not used to.
It’s frustrating when you can’t find your rhythm at the plate and it could feel like you can’t do anything right at the plate.
The Brewers have had a first-hand look at Bradley’s struggles throughout the season, but the team knows that he has the ability to make those necessary changes as the season progresses.
“I thought he had some good ABs and hit some balls hard on the (last) road trip (to Colorado and Arizona),” president of baseball operations David Stearns told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “But this is well below his career level of production. He’s certainly aware of that; he’s frustrated by it.”
“I don’t have a great answer for it. He’s working hard to get through it. There are years where it seems like every at-bat, a hitter is in a pitcher-advantage count. It feels like that with Jackie right now, like he’s walking into the batter’s box with two strikes. That’s a tough way to hit.
“There have been a lot of loud outs. He’s hitting it at a lot of defenders. That adds to the frustration.”
This has certainly been his worst season statistically at the plate. Through 78 games he’s batting .170 with a .289 slugging percentage.
At the start of the season, Bradley Jr. was hitting .150 at the end of May. You could only imagine what was going through his mind at that time. But the good thing is that he’s making progress. Bradley Jr. has hit in some timely clutch at-bats recently and that is a confidence booster for sure.
He had a two-hit performance on June 28 against the Chicago Cubs, that was a game he needed.
“With anybody, it’s always good to see balls fall,” Bradley said. “You don’t want to continuously hit balls hard but right at somebody. That’s just the way the game is. I’ll take the soft hits, too. I don’t have to always hit it hard. I was glad to see that fall, not only for myself but also, obviously, for the team and to contribute in a big moment like that.”
Despite his struggles, Bradley Jr. knows this is a mental game and he understands he can’t get so far in his head when he’s struggling at the plate.
“This is a game that requires a lot of physical performance but a lot of mental focus as well,” he said. “So, I’m trying to stay focused and stay in the present. You can’t change the past. Obviously, I’ve been horrible to this point and I have to get better.”
Our MLBbro will continue to work hard. It’s all he knows.
The 2021 season has not been going too well for Jackie Bradley Jr. at the plate. Bradley Jr. is in his first season with the Milwaukee Brewers and is batting a career-low .154 through 59 games.
Yes, you read that batting average right. In his last four games, he is 1-for-13.
This is something the Brewers did not see coming when they signed him in early March. The speedy outfielder came off an impressive COVID season in which he batted .283 through 55 games with 54 hits, seven home runs, and 22 RBI.
Despite his struggles at the plate, the Brewers are not giving up on Bradley Jr. whose stick was flaming in April. He had an eight-game hitting streak and had a hit in 11 of 12 games.
Brewers manager Craig Counsell recently talked about Bradley Jr.’s struggles at the plate, but he still has faith in the one-time All-Star.
“Jackie’s struggled offensively and he hasn’t been able to get out of it. I still think he’s helping us win because I still think he’s playing defense and playing a plus defense,” Counsell told MLB.com.
“We’ve seen it the last two weeks of playing against other teams, the differences a center fielder makes. Those are doubles and triples and runs, essentially, on plays that he makes. We’re also in a situation where, at this point, Jackie’s the best option.”
So even though his bat hasn’t come along recently, Bradley Jr. still is a valuable asset to the Brewers. Our MLBbro knows how to control the outfield and his defense is a plus to his overall game.
A positive thing to look at is Bradley Jr. is not letting his performance at the plate affect his overall game. It’s evident that Bradley Jr. has been in a slump and Counsell is certainly aware of that.
“But he’s struggling. He’s struggling offensively and we do need to be better offensively,” Counsell said. “He’s frustrated, there’s no question about it.
“He’s better than this, there’s no question about that. But we just haven’t been able to help him get going, and that’s frustrating on our end.”
No one enjoys a slump and for Bradley Jr., he will have to put the extra time in to get on the right side of the hitting spectrum. But the good thing is that his manager and team believe in him and that he can turn things around.
This brother is a good player and has had success in the league throughout his career.
As the season progresses, Bradley Jr. will continue to get opportunities to end his slump at the plate. When he’s seeing the ball well, Bradley Jr. is a problem at the plate. With his power and speed, he can be a nightmare to opposing pitchers and teams.
These next few months will be important for Bradley Jr. The Brewers know the potential he has at the plate and they will stay patient to see if the former Gold Glove winner can make an impact with his bat, too
The art of defensive wizardry in baseball can be described as “poetry in motion” when Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. is on the job. The center fielder pulled out his inner Peter Parker to rob Atlanta Braves infielder Ozzie Albies of a potential home run Saturday evening.
Less than 24 hours later, Albies tested Bradley Jr. again, but like super-producer Jermaine Dupri and rap group, Dem Franchize Boyz said back in their 2006 smash hit, “Oh, I think they like me when they heard me on the other one. So, it’s only right that I hit you with another one.”
The web gem is the true definition of why offense sells tickets and defense wins games.
Bradley Jr. is an MLB gold glove recipient, receiving the honor back in 2018, proving his glovework is nothing to sneeze about. But on the offensive side of the ball, his bat is a welcomed surprise.
In 36 games, he’s hitting .156 with six runs batted in and three home runs. In his last five games, Bradley Jr. struck out seven times while drawing three walks. On the road, he is averaging .119 with two RBIs and one home run. On the bright side, he leads the league in hit-by-pitch with six, most in the major leagues. Yikes!
In the offseason, JBJ signed a two-year, 24-million-dollar deal to join the Brewers, exiting the Boston Red Sox after a spectacular eight-year career, and leaving fans with their mouths open in disbelief.
Although he is currently hitting a proverbial wall with the Brew Crew, the MLB bro has been imitating the Ringling Brothers with some of the most insane aerial circus catches known to man. His arm from the warning track was jaw-dropping.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora spoke of the departure and told MLB.com that not only is Bradley Jr. a solid player, but he is a better person who is very consistent in everything that he does.
“It was a pleasure to have him in the clubhouse, to know him off the field and to know his family,” he added. “He’s an outstanding kid. He did some great things while he was here.”
During his tenure, he made his first all-star game appearance in 2016. He achieved the most valuable player award in the American League Championship Series in 2018. And he helped the Red Sox accomplish the ultimate goal by winning the World Series title.
In 873 games, JBJ had 692 hits at the dish, 376 RBIs, and 98 homers as he hit a career average of .239. He finished in the top 10 three times in defensive wins above replacement, which made him a household name around the game as the best defensive center fielder across the league.
All this to say that JBJ is no bum.
Like a kid in a new school, his early-season struggles could be due to unfamiliarity in his new environment. Once he gets accustomed to the unique scenery and settles in at the plate, his bat will follow his glove.
Look for JBJ to get back to his MVP level as the Brewers travel to Kansas City to take on the Royals tonight with the first pitch at 8:10 p.m. EDT.
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