Stotle...I know you saw Bradley this weekend...Thoughts?

[Sports Guy]

Nick, I saw some of the tweets you had about Bradley but overall, after seeing him, where do you stand?

[Stotle]

Nick, I saw some of the tweets you had about Bradley but overall, after seeing him, where do you stand?

I'm writing him up along with five other college arms for this week's 3-part Draft series here at OH. I'll also have a more in-depth scouting report w/video at my site.

Generally, I like him a lot. Strikes me as a power lefty arm -- everything is easy -- with command of three pitches. His secondaries are not overpowering, but I think he has under-utilized them because his fastball is so effective/difficult to square. Once he gets into a pro system that will push him to develop the SL/CH, he could be a true front-ender. If I had to order the lefties right now, I would probably go Hultzen first simply because I think he is safer (though there is some risk that the velo bump is not here to stay, and that the SL will not be as effective in the pro ranks as it is against college bats -- esp. if he's 91-93 instead of 94-5, T96.

Gun to head, I'd go Hultzen, Bradley/Anderson toss-up.

[RVAbird]

I'm writing him up along with five other college arms for this week's 3-part Draft series here at OH. I'll also have a more in-depth scouting report w/video at my site.

Generally, I like him a lot. Strikes me as a power lefty arm -- everything is easy -- with command of three pitches. His secondaries are not overpowering, but I think he has under-utilized them because his fastball is so effective/difficult to square. Once he gets into a pro system that will push him to develop the SL/CH, he could be a true front-ender. If I had to order the lefties right now, I would probably go Hultzen first simply because I think he is safer (though there is some risk that the velo bump is not here to stay, and that the SL will not be as effective in the pro ranks as it is against college bats -- esp. if he's 91-93 instead of 94-5, T96.

Gun to head, I'd go Hultzen, Bradley/Anderson toss-up.

Your DSS mid-season rankings from last week had Bradley/Jungmann/Hultzen 6-8 with Anderson at 12 overall. Are you adjusting those?

[Stotle]

Your DSS mid-season rankings from last week had Bradley/Jungmann/Hultzen 6-8 with Anderson at 12 overall. Are you adjusting those?

If I republished that list today I'd probably go Jungmann/Hultzen/Bradley/Anderson, but I wouldn't be surprised if the final list looked like Bradley/Jungmann/Anderson/Hultzen. They are all bunched very closely together.

[RVAbird]

If I republished that list today I'd probably go Jungmann/Hultzen/Bradley/Anderson, but I wouldn't be surprised if the final list looked like Bradley/Jungmann/Anderson/Hultzen. They are all bunched very closely together.

Quick thoughts on Jungmann? K/9 down from mid-9s to low-8s, but BB/9 also down from 3s to 1s. Pitching more to contact? Hitters adjusting and getting aggressive? Low K/rate anything to worry about?

[Stotle]

Quick thoughts on Jungmann? K/9 down from mid-9s to low-8s, but BB/9 also down from 3s to 1s. Pitching more to contact? Hitters adjusting and getting aggressive? Low K/rate anything to worry about?

Stuff has been consistent. More mature pitcher this year with better overall approach. Setting-up hitters well and slurve/change have produced a lot of soft contact. He is pitching into the 8th/9th inning in the same number of pitches with which Bauer is entering the 6th/7th. He's only allowed 54 H and 19 BB in 97+ IP -- stuff is legit.

[RVAbird]

Stuff has been consistent. More mature pitcher this year with better overall approach. Setting-up hitters well and slurve/change have produced a lot of soft contact. He is pitching into the 8th/9th inning in the same number of pitches with which Bauer is entering the 6th/7th. He's only allowed 54 H and 19 BB in 97+ IP -- stuff is legit.

Thanks as always.

[Stotle]

Thanks as always.

Always love talking draft!

[Stotle]

Here is the video of Bradley from Sunday's start.

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[eb45]

In my entirely unprofessional opinion, the fastball looks outstanding, with great sink on it. The slider looks very sharp as well, though it looked like it got loose a couple times. The change doesn't look all that great, but then again he didn't throw it nearly as much as the fastball or slider in the video.

After reading more about him, I'm not anti-Bradley any more. I still wouldn't take him over Bundy or Starling, but I can see why someone like Jordan would. And there are many reasons why Joe Jordan gets paid to do what he does and I don't.

[Stotle]

In my entirely unprofessional opinion, the fastball looks outstanding, with great sink on it. The slider looks very sharp as well, though it looked like it got loose a couple times. The change doesn't look all that great, but then again he didn't throw it nearly as much as the fastball or slider in the video.

After reading more about him, I'm not anti-Bradley any more. I still wouldn't take him over Bundy or Starling, but I can see why someone like Jordan would. And there are many reasons why Joe Jordan gets paid to do what he does and I don't.

Interestingly, a number of those "sliders" were actually cut fastballs. He did not throw many true sliders or change-ups. His fastball is very impressive -- can cut it or throw it with bore/sink, in each case spotting it well. I actually liked his change-up. Has the same action as his sinking 2-seamer and solid arm action. The mechanics are lovely.

[eb45]

Hmmm. That makes his fastball sound better, but if that loose sweeping pitch was his slider I can't say I'm particularly impressed. The mechanics are great though, and I agree that the fastball is outstanding. I'd like to see more of his change, because there were a couple times in that video the arm action was noticeably different and he seemed to be leaving it up more often than not.

[Stotle]

Hmmm. That makes his fastball sound better, but if that loose sweeping pitch was his slider I can't say I'm particularly impressed. The mechanics are great though, and I agree that the fastball is outstanding. I'd like to see more of his change, because there were a couple times in that video the arm action was noticeably different and he seemed to be leaving it up more often than not.

That is right. I only saw one slider that was solid. The rest he clearly was not hitting his release point -- inconsistent spin and shape. I have heard it flashed plus at various times this spring, but did not see it Sunday. Both his change and slider need clean-up, but my impression is that he hasn't thrown either particularly often this year. I think when he gets to pro ball and focuses on the pitches, they will improve and potentially rapidly.