2023 #7 Prospect Enrique Bradfield Jr. - CF

[RZNJ]

35 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

I am not thrilled with his swing, no. It is not a “pure” swing at all. And it is inconsistent at this point. But there is so much to like otherwise. He may never be much of a hitter, but it was worth a shot at #17. Give him two years in the system, and let’s see where he is then. Honestly, it may be an uphill battle, but it can be done.

Swing changes rarely take hold quickly. It has to be without thought, just reaction for the hitter. The mental side has to change as well with any swing changes.

What little I have seen of him this Spring, I see more Willie McGee than I see Kenny Lofton. 

Good take.  He may have to taste some failure before he's willing to make significant changes.  I also saw him say he wants to get stronger but he wants it to happen naturally.   Hmmm.  I`m not sure what to make of that but my guess is that they may have wanted him to put on about 10 pounds and go on a heavy weight lifting program (he needs it) and he's afraid of how it might affect "his game".   

Edited March 15 by RZNJ

[interloper]

1 minute ago, RZNJ said:

Good take.  He may have to taste some failure before he's willing to make significant changes.  I also saw him say he wants to get stronger but he wants it to happen naturally.   Hmmm.  I`m not sure what to make of that but my guess is that they may have wanted him to put on about 10 pounds of good weight (he needs it) and he's afraid of how it might affect "his game".   

I just read that as "I don't want to slam weights and put on a bunch of bulky muscle weight as a speed guy", which to me makes sense. I think they will find some kind of in between balance for him. 

Yes, Gunnar is bulky and fast, but I don't know how long that's going to last honestly. And Bradfield is in another speed class than Gunnar, honestly. 

[RZNJ]

4 minutes ago, interloper said:

I just read that as "I don't want to slam weights and put on a bunch of bulky muscle weight as a speed guy", which to me makes sense. I think they will find some kind of in between balance for him. 

Yes, Gunnar is bulky and fast, but I don't know how long that's going to last honestly. And Bradfield is in another speed class than Gunnar, honestly. 

If it's a choice between 80 speed and a 40 bat and 70 speed and a 50 bat, I'll take the latter but I believe he can bulk up without losing speed.   Most, if not all, world class sprinters are muscular and on serious lifting programs, to the best of my knowledge.

[interloper]

1 minute ago, RZNJ said:

If it's a choice between 80 speed and a 40 bat and 70 speed and a 50 bat, I'll take the latter but I believe he can bulk up without losing speed.   Most, if not all, world class sprinters are muscular and on serious lifting programs, to the best of my knowledge.

Agree, and he did say he wanted to put on weight. So I'm not sure there's much here to chew on, really. I think he knows he's got some growing/filling out left to do that will naturally add weight and muscle as he continues to train. 

Edited March 15 by interloper

[RZNJ]

Just now, interloper said:

Agree, and he did say he wanted to put on weight. So I'm not sure there's much here to chew on, really. 

I think there is.  Joey Ortiz transformed himself physically and made swing changes to become the prospect he did.  We'll see how Bradfield does this year but I was hoping for a stronger look after his first off season under the Orioles tutelage.  Maybe they didn't want him to bulk up a little.  I'm just guessing.

[LookinUp]

I accept that swing changes take real time, but would have hoped that he came to camp this spring with an obvious new swing. It's kind of disappointing that he didn't. 

That said, his other skills are tantalizing. We wait and hope that the swing develops enough to be passable in the majors.

[Brooks The Great]

2 minutes ago, Jammer7 said:

I am not thrilled with his swing, no. It is not a “pure” swing at all. And it is inconsistent at this point. But there is so much to like otherwise. He may never be much of a hitter, but it was worth a shot at #17. Give him two years in the system, and let’s see where he is then. Honestly, it may be an uphill battle, but it can be done.

Swing changes rarely take hold quickly. It has to be without thought, just reaction for the hitter. The mental side has to change as well with any swing changes.

What little I have seen of him this Spring, I see more Willie McGee than I see Kenny Lofton. 

Bradfield is certainly in the most ideal development system as a hitter from an analytics and coaching standpoint. 

As an aside, I think Kenny Lofton should be a Hall of Famer. I know some people have brought up Lofton as a comp for Bradfield. I think there are much more likely outcomes where he's Michael Bourn or Terrance Gore. Guys who have value, but maybe not at #17 in the first round given there were other players with premium talent and upside available (Nimmala, Brock Wilken, Colt Emerson, Colin Houck, Chase Davis).

To me, the Bradfield pick was the first time Elias specifically drafted for positional need, as the organization is obviously lacking CF depth at all levels.

[interloper]

I think we have to be okay with a draft pick taking a few years to develop again. We've been a little spoiled lately. Let the man simmer.

Also, I think it's very much like the Orioles to just let a guy play in his first year after the draft, and then hit him with the changes the next year. 

Edited March 15 by interloper

[ShoelesJoe]

38 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

Good take.  He may have to taste some failure before he's willing to make significant changes.  I also saw him say he wants to get stronger but he wants it to happen naturally.   Hmmm.  I`m not sure what to make of that but my guess is that they may have wanted him to put on about 10 pounds and go on a heavy weight lifting program (he needs it) and he's afraid of how it might affect "his game".   

The team should pair him with Mullins during the off season. If Bradfield was able to put on muscle like this he could be a beast. 

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, ShoelesJoe said:

The team should pair him with Mullins during the off season. If Bradfield was able to put on muscle like this he could be a beast. 

Right.

Instead of teaming him up with the trainers the team has hired to do this sort of thing they should team him up with another player who should have the freedom to have his off-season to himself and not be saddled with additional responsibilities he's not getting paid for.

[RZNJ]

• 19 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

  • Right.
  • Instead of teaming him up with the trainers the team has hired to do this sort of thing they should team him up with another player who should have the freedom to have his off-season to himself and not be saddled with additional responsibilities he's not getting paid for.

 

[Can_of_corn]

11 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

•  

 

So instead of using actual professionals that are trained to, and are being paid to, handle this sort of stuff the O's should just have another player, in his off-season, train his possible replacement?

Based off of what?  One picture of Mullins looking jacked?

Do they even winter in the same State?

Are you going to force Mullins to give him a spare room in the back?

[interloper]

"Mullins looks jacked therefore this throw-away Bradfield quote should be dunked on" is an all-timer of an OH take. Let's forget that Mullins always had more power and less speed than Bradfield when he was a prospect. They're not the same player. 

Let the kid grow and play baseball and let one of the top development systems in the game cook. 

[RZNJ]

8 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

So instead of using actual professionals that are trained to, and are being paid to, handle this sort of stuff the O's should just have another player, in his off-season, train his possible replacement?

Based off of what?  One picture of Mullins looking jacked?

Do they even winter in the same State?

Are you going to force Mullins to give him a spare room in the back?

I think you took Shoeless post way to serious and literal.   I just took it as it would be great if he could get as jacked as Cedric.   

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, RZNJ said:

I think you took Shoeless post way to serious and literal.   I just took it as it would be great if he could get as jacked as Cedric.   

I don't think I did. 

I think folks actually think like this.

No emoticons, they bothered to hunt up a picture.  Yea, I might be wrong, because you can't always tell on the internet but  I think he was serious.

If he wasn't serious he didn't do a good job of conveying that.

I notice you gave him an up vote and not a laugh.