Jed Bradley Scouting Report

[Jordan Tuwiner]

http://orioles-nation.com/2011/04/27/je ... ng-report/

By: Don Olsen

If there is a way to describe Jed Bradley, it is prototypical: a left hander with natural sink on everything and a solid ground ball pitcher. He is one of the few college pitchers that can continue to see projection in the future and has only scratched the surface with his abilities.

[BuckMagic]

I believe this has been the most positive report you've posted so far.

Of the three guys you've posted on so far is Bradley the best of the bunch?

[Don]

It comes down to him and Bundy in my opinion. I think Bundy has a slightly higher ceiling because you simply do not see his types too often in any age bracket. If the team wanted a guy that is one or two years away from pitching in Baltimore, Bradley is that and can be a solid starting pitcher.

Bundy is young and a very eager work ethic from my understanding. He can easily be a number 1 on the best lineup of pitchers in 4/5 years.

Joe usually wants to pick guy who project and have small time frames in the minors. Outside of Cole, I can only see Bradley and Anderson that fit the mold and Bradley is a step or two higher on the talent level. Hultzen is a small time frame, but what you see might be what you get with him.

[Rising O's]

Thanks for the report though I like him better than Hultzen. I'd rather they take one of the HS guys to go along with Machado/Schoop etc. A Starling/Machado/Schoop offense would have some very nice potential but goes against the buy the bats philosophy of Andy.

[Don]

Thanks

I had said in the 2011 Draft Ranking forum that it depends on the direction of the club. There are six guys that are worthy of the first pick, if you pushed back the clock to a few of the previous drafts. I think the fanbase should be happy if they were to select Cole, Rendon, Bundy, Bradley, Starling, or Hultzen. I like Sonny Gray, but his effort and command problems would make me question the choice with one of these six guys left on the board.

[A_K]

Every year there's one or two guys that I get my heart set on wanting the O's to take, based on the players projected to be available when they pick. Up until now it felt like there were too many questions surrounding each of the guys who had been discussed as possible picks for the O's. But I gotta say, you've sold me on Bradley. Sounds like a perfect fit for our organizational needs.

[allstar1579]

I'm not a huge Bradley fan personally, I like other guys a little better, but he's still a top 7 guy for me, and I have a feeling he's the O's guy at 4. Joe Jordan's MO is sinking pitch groundball pitchers, and a lefthanded one that sits mid-90s seems too hard for him to pass up, even if some other guys are better prospects. Sinkerball pitchers are a little harder to evaluate than other pitchers because they pitch to contact, so their stats can live or die based on their defense behind them. Bad stats doesn't mean bad prospect, there is always more to the story.

Basically Bradley is the college version of Z. Britton, and Hultzen is a lesser version of Matusz.

[Don]

Difference is I think that slider is a swing and miss pitch in the future, which is why I think he can project higher in the future.

If he did not have a swing and miss, I would be 100% on the Bundy train. I still think it is too close to call between those two as far as overall rankings.

[allstar1579]

Yeah I could see that. I'm guessing it breaks down an in on righties? Couple that with his ground ball tendencies and being able to saw off righties for some more weak grounders and I think he could turn in to a heck of a pitcher. He's just gotta be able to make that mental climb to not be afraid to pitch to contact and stick with what works in the pros. I get afraid for almost every pitching prospect when they get to that point, I've seen too many of them fail because they think they have to make everyone swing and miss and never quite get the feel for how to coax people into ground balls where they want them.

[Don]

I have the GT and Clemson game on right now. Bradley is making ground ball after ground ball. He has absolute control of his pitches and did not go 3-0 against a hitter until the 7th inning. I stress to turn on Fox South to see him up live. Do not trust that radar gun reading. Clemson is notorious to have 3-4-5 mph slower readings for away teams.

[Jordan Tuwiner]

A few tweets from Nick Faleris, who's an MLB associate scout.

http://twitter.com/NickJFaleris/status/ ... 4252942336

Side work on Bradley in 3rd. Very good extension while staying out in front and on top of plant leg. Easy motion. Clean arm. #mlbdraft

http://twitter.com/NickJFaleris/status/ ... 8676200448

Bradley 90-92 in the 2nd. SL 79-80 flashed handbrake skid. Pounding bottom of zone. No hits; one reached on Skole error. #mlbdraft

http://twitter.com/NickJFaleris/status/ ... 9540889601

Jed Bradley 91-93, T94 in the first, heavy. Hitting spots. Dropped nice 8w mph CH and meh 79 SL. SO and 2 4-3s. #mlbdraft.

[Tenth Inning]

Difference is I think that slider is a swing and miss pitch in the future, which is why I think he can project higher in the future.

If he did not have a swing and miss, I would be 100% on the Bundy train. I still think it is too close to call between those two as far as overall rankings.

I've heard scouts say they've seen Bradley's slider flash plus, but I haven't seen it personally. It's loose and loopy and not consistently spotted. Of course, he hasn't had to use it much in his college career, as he could basically live off the fastball with success right now.

His arsenal will get fleshed out more at the pro level, which is why his development time will be longer than that of, say, Hultzen. I actually think the Change is the better of his two main secondaries. Good depth and fade, good command from what I've seen.

And Bradley actually has a little projection left. Biggest plusses are frame and delivery. Easy action and velo, should be a workhorse.

[Don]

One thing to remember about this high is that you take players at their best and should ignore the worst, if you feel it does not hinder them long term. Most problems are easily correctable overtime with serious repetition and a keen eye for detail. I wonder if some organization passes on Cole or Rendon because of the poor spring. I would laugh that organization out of the gym 10 years from now.

I think Jim Callis said it best in one of his pieces recently. You had the Padres who could have taken the best pitcher out of the 2004 class and the most dominate player in Jeff Nemmain. The paused over his injury even though it has become almost routine in the industry and everyone is aware that Jeff would comeback 100%. They pull the "lets draft the local kid" Matt Bush and Tampa has a smile from ear to ear.

I know I am higher than scouts on Jed. I just saw something up close in Miami to think he has something in him that will make him a better than solid pitcher. This fanbase should not be sad, if he were the selection. I do truly think that both Bubba and Dylan have passed everyone besides Rendon and Cole at this time.