2023 1st Round Pick (#17): Enrique Bradfield Jr. - CF - (Jr) Vanderbilt University

[Ridgway22]

5 hours ago, Alasdaire said:

There were several tantalizing prep bats and a good college arm left on the board, and the front office still went with a college hitter. It wasn't a reach, but it just seems to me like their model is biased to favor those types of guys unless

Yep, and the results I'm seeing, well, they seem to justify whatever they are doing. I'm on board.

[Malike]

3 hours ago, survivedc said:

Real noodle arm throw back to the infield. This guy is a first rounder?

His quickness bolsters his on-base ability and helps him compensate for a below-average arm by allowing him to reach grounders in a hurry. 

[Alasdaire]

Arm strength is decidedly the least important trait for a center fielder to have. Speed and range/ability to read balls are much more important, and by all accounts he is hyper elite at both of those.

[Malike]

He was so upset by the Orioles picking him up, he called Elias right after to voice his concerns.

https://twitter.com/Orioles/status/1678217095400521729?s=20

[Alasdaire]

5 minutes ago, Malike said:

He was so upset by the Orioles picking him up, he called Elias right after to voice his concerns.

https://twitter.com/Orioles/status/1678217095400521729?s=20

Yeah, that seems to pretty clearly indicate they were in contact before the draft. Coupled with the reply to Coby saying "see you soon" and there's nothing left to be analyzed in terms of him not being happy.

[Frobby]

4 hours ago, banks703 said:

This and 70 stolen bases. He walks a lot. Gonna be a menace playing in OPACY, gapping triples and taking away extra base hits with the glove. 

My one concern is, we all know that walk rates typically drop considerably at the major league level if a player can’t generate power.  

I’m not going to worry too much, though.  Elias & co. have such a good record on player development and draft strategy that they’ve earned the benefit of any doubt.  
 

[sportsfan8703]

4 hours ago, ChosenOne21 said:

I will happily bet my net worth against Frank Thomas's that Enrique Bradfield isn't even in the majors within a year. I get that he likes him and wants to praise him, but come on. Don't blow smoke up my ass because you saw him play three times.

I think he could start in Delmarva and finish in Aberdeen this year. Aberdeen has been the level to slow down most of our hitters recently. He could be in Bowie, and a top 100 prospect, this time next year. 

Edited July 10, 2023 by sportsfan8703

[Frobby]

5 hours ago, Alasdaire said:

Funny, I saw that article last week but didn’t pay close attention to who it was about, and assumed it was some major league player I didn’t know.   Never made the connection last night.  

[ChosenOne21]

3 hours ago, sportsfan8703 said:

I think he could start in Delmarva and finish in Aberdeen this year. Aberdeen has been the level to slow down most of our hitters recently. He could be in Bowie, and a top 100 prospect, this time next year. 

Yeah. His swing needs too much work to be in the majors within a year, though it does seem his defense is MLB ready.

[2001OriolesFan]

10 hours ago, Alasdaire said:

There were several tantalizing prep bats and a good college arm left on the board, and the front office still went with a college hitter. It wasn't a reach, but it just seems to me like their model is biased to favor those types of guys unless there's a clear chasm in talent in favor of the high school player a la Holliday last year. But bias or not, it has worked out splendidly for them in the past, so they deserve the benefit of the doubt.

As to Bradfield himself, it will be fun to have a guy with game-breaking speed in the system. For all of the talent that the system has now, none of the top-end guys are really burners. Combine that with the O's ability to develop hitters' patience and ability to cash in when they get their pitch and I could easily see them turning him into a guy who gets on enough for his speed to make a difference even if he doesn't mash the ball.

Zero concern about his redundancy vis-a-vis Cedric/Jud. You can never have too many good players.

Well you can never have too many good pitchers.

 

[btdart20]

10 hours ago, nvpacchi said:

found this with Enrique's 90th percentile EVs. Granted this is with the college bat, so not exactly sure how it would translate to wood.  I gotta recheck my data, but I think this puts him in similar territory as guys like Lindoe, India, JoRam, and Mullins - so maybe there is room to tap into double digit HRs

Nice!  

[Sports Guy]

This is a really interesting pick if you think about it.

This is a very very different profile than what Elias tends to go after.

It was mentioned last night that this pick is a pick that directly reflects the new rules and I think there is a lot of truth to that. New rules and new wall in OPACY make this a more premium selection in many ways.

Elias said last night that they had him ranked higher than 17. If I had to guess, he was their BPA based on him saying that. 
 

This shows growth in how Elias is evaluating and it brings a different dimension to the organization and future teams than maybe what they already had.

 

[banks703]

5 hours ago, Frobby said:

My one concern is, we all know that walk rates typically drop considerably at the major league level if a player can’t generate power.  

I’m not going to worry too much, though.  Elias & co. have such a good record on player development and draft strategy that they’ve earned the benefit of any doubt.  
 

I think the EV numbers are really encouraging. I suspect the org will adjust his swing path to get more out of him. The gap power is there. He is going to thrive in bigger ballparks.

I realize that it may seem silly to suggest that in college, home run power really wasn’t ‘needed’ from him (and I’m not) but if you watch his hitting approach, he is swinging to get on base and not necessarily to do damage.

All that to say I think he’s going to have enough power to keep pitchers honest with him. He averaged about 1.5 hits per game in college. We know that he is not going to do that at the ML level but if he has seasons of 150+ hits, he might steal 100 bases. Singles almost automatically turn into doubles with his speed.

I really like the pick. Yes, I think the arm needs some work but I’m not as down on his throwing as others. His arm is no worse than Ced’s arm right now and EBJ isn’t the hollow thrower that is Mountcastle. I think they can get more out of his arm similarly to what they were able to get from Ced. 

[banks703]

14 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

This is a really interesting pick if you think about it.

This is a very very different profile than what Elias tends to go after.

It was mentioned last night that this pick is a pick that directly reflects the new rules and I think there is a lot of truth to that. New rules and new wall in OPACY make this a more premium selection in many ways.

Elias said last night that they had him ranked higher than 17. If I had to guess, he was their BPA based on him saying that. 
 

This shows growth in how Elias is evaluating and it brings a different dimension to the organization and future teams than maybe what they already had.

 

I agree and I think it also shows (along with the other college players taken) that they are picking guys who can advance through the system fast.

To me, that signals what we’ve all been saying (Elias may have said it) that the rebuild is officially behind them. They’re now planning for two years from today vs. five. 

 

 

[RVAOsFan]

I am not going to pretend to know a ton about this kid but when I looked at the top ranked draft prospects lists a couple months ago I mentioned in another thread that this guy is the type of player we lack in our organization and I would like to see drafted.  A true CF with elite speed to go with all of our IF/COF/C talent.  When I mentioned it the consensus was he would not make it to 17 but I am glad he did, he could be fun and exciting to watch.