Enrique Bradfield Jr. 2024

[interloper]

I continue to just kind of feel like he's a guy who needs to just cook for a couple years, and suddenly, he's going to pop. 

I also feel like he might be a guy who is more valuable to a ML club than a MiL club, you know?

Edited June 27 by interloper

[733baseball]

Left the game tonight, but I'm pretty sure it was just because he got something in his eye.

[sportsfan8703]

On 6/27/2024 at 3:16 PM, interloper said:

I continue to just kind of feel like he's a guy who needs to just cook for a couple years, and suddenly, he's going to pop. 

I also feel like he might be a guy who is more valuable to a ML club than a MiL club, you know?

He’s probably just a dude that needs a year at each level. We have high expectations, myself included, for bats that we draft. Especially in the 1st rd. 

[sportsfan8703]

We’re not gonna trade Holliday, Mayo, and Basallo. Beavers and Norby are our best trade chips. I don’t know what we’ll do in the draft. But EBJ could be our top ranked position prospect this time next year. 

[oriolefan1035]

1 hour ago, sportsfan8703 said:

We’re not gonna trade Holliday, Mayo, and Basallo. Beavers and Norby are our best trade chips. I don’t know what we’ll do in the draft. But EBJ could be our top ranked position prospect this time next year. 

I’d be surprised if Etzel doesn’t hop him in prospect rankings. He was playing CF over Bradfield before being promoted, he’s younger, has a better hit tool, steals as many if not more bases, and was promoted to Bowie before Bradfield.

[baltfan]

4 minutes ago, oriolefan1035 said:

I’d be surprised if Etzel doesn’t hop him in prospect rankings. He was playing CF over Bradfield before being promoted, he’s younger, has a better hit tool, steals as many if not more bases, and was promoted to Bowie before Bradfield.

Etzel didn’t even make the Fangraphs rankings just released.  He isn’t jumping that far up though I agree he is underrated. 

[RZNJ]

7 minutes ago, baltfan said:

Etzel didn’t even make the Fangraphs rankings just released.  He isn’t jumping that far up though I agree he is underrated. 

Depends on who is doing the ranking.  First of all, Fangraphs also didn’t include Josh Liranzo in the top 45 so it’s either an error of omission on their part or they have completely lost it over there.

I believe it was Kiley McDaniel, of ESPN, who had Bradfield #7 and Etzel around #11 or #12 and that was before the season so it wouldn’t be a shock if Mr. McDaniel jumped Etzel over Bradfield in his off season rankings.

I am not an ESPN+ subscriber so I can’t pull up McDaniel’s list but I remember it being discussed and we were surprised how high he had Etzel.  At this point, that’s a feather in his cap.

[SemperFi]

1 hour ago, oriolefan1035 said:

I’d be surprised if Etzel doesn’t hop him in prospect rankings. He was playing CF over Bradfield before being promoted, he’s younger, has a better hit tool, steals as many if not more bases, and was promoted to Bowie before Bradfield.

What?  Context please-Etzel has finished a total of 10 games in CF this year.....I seriously doubt the Orioles have any org charts in the warehouse that list Etzel in front of EBJ especially defensively.  Etzel is a nice story but he doesn't have the ceiling of EBJ and prospect ranking are more projection than MiL production.

[RZNJ]

8 minutes ago, SemperFi said:

What?  Context please-Etzel has finished a total of 10 games in CF this year.....I seriously doubt the Orioles have any org charts in the warehouse that list Etzel in front of EBJ especially defensively.  Etzel is a nice story but he doesn't have the ceiling of EBJ and prospect ranking are more projection than MiL production.

To this point Etzel has clearly out produced Bradfield.   As for ceiling, Etzel probably can’t match Bradfield in speed and CF defense but Bradfield probably can’t match him in power.  Hitting ability seems to be a question but a large early edge to Etzel.  If Etzel is a true CF, why couldn’t the Orioles have him ahead of Bradfield on their organizational charts?

Etzel is the one promoted to Bowie.  In 16 games at AA Etzel has played CF in 6 games, including the last 2.   That’s on a team with top prospect and incumbent CF Jud Fabian.  Seems interesting to me.

[OsFanInOhio]

On 6/27/2024 at 12:33 PM, Can_of_corn said:

League average when most players at that level never reach the majors is not encouraging but he does have things to offer beyond the bat.

I think you’d also get a different view if you could see his stats by month. I can’t find it now, but he started off really slowly, and has been better since then. The question is whether he was just adjusting, going through a slump, or working through adjustments the organization has put in place. When he was drafted, it was understood he’d need a swing change or something fixed to reach his potential. It makes sense that it might take him longer to develop despite his other tools if they have to redo his swing. Something similar to beavers. 

[Tony-OH]

3 hours ago, baltfan said:

Etzel didn’t even make the Fangraphs rankings just released.  He isn’t jumping that far up though I agree he is underrated. 

The Fangraph rankings didn't have Liranzo and Almeyda either so are you using them as your "bible"? I mean, I'm not knocking them, but they are clearly going of draft status on some of these guys and not having Etzel on here when he's totally outplayed everyone else, including Bradfield, in his draft class so far is head scratcher.

I'm not ready to say Etzel is a better prospect than Bradfield yet, but it's not out o the question. I think Bradfield has been working on a new approach and swing this year and that's why the production has been slow to come. 

I still have high hopes for Bradfield and he's still an impact defensive outfielder.

[SemperFi]

3 hours ago, RZNJ said:

To this point Etzel has clearly out produced Bradfield.   As for ceiling, Etzel probably can’t match Bradfield in speed and CF defense but Bradfield probably can’t match him in power.  Hitting ability seems to be a question but a large early edge to Etzel.  If Etzel is a true CF, why couldn’t the Orioles have him ahead of Bradfield on their organizational charts?

Etzel is the one promoted to Bowie.  In 16 games at AA Etzel has played CF in 6 games, including the last 2.   That’s on a team with top prospect and incumbent CF Jud Fabian.  Seems interesting to me.

I know that, I'm not a rube.

My point was to the bolded "Etzel was playing CF over EBJ before his promotion".

I will provide my own context: that is flat out false.  In the two weeks prior to his promotion Etzel STARTED once, Josenberger once and EBJ got the nine other starts in CF.  The majority of Etzel's starts were when EBJ was injured-that's simply a fact.

Look Etzel's a wonderful story so far but he's not a potential 70 grade speed/ defense guy.  EBJ was not drafted because of his hit tool, he was drafted for his peripheral skills.

 

[RZNJ]

3 minutes ago, SemperFi said:

I know that, I'm not a rube.

My point was to the bolded "Etzel was playing CF over EBJ before his promotion".

I will provide my own context: that is flat out false.  In the two weeks prior to his promotion Etzel STARTED once, Josenberger once and EBJ got the nine other starts in CF.  The majority of Etzel's starts were when EBJ was injured-that's simply a fact.

Look Etzel's a wonderful story so far but he's not a potential 70 grade speed/ defense guy.  EBJ was not drafted because of his hit tool, he was drafted for his peripheral skills.

 

I agree on the CF stuff.  He wasn’t playing over or ahead of Bradfield in CF.  I acknowledged that Bradfield is superior in speed and defense.  But as Victor Scott III can attest, that’s not enough.   Etzel, so far, seems to be a more well rounded player.  He obviously has some speed.   And the organization is obviously giving him a number of starts in CF.   It remains to be seen how each of their bats develop and how good or not so good Etzel’s CF defense is.   Etzel might be the better overall player both now and in the future.  Might be.

[baltfan]

2 hours ago, Tony-OH said:

The Fangraph rankings didn't have Liranzo and Almeyda either so are you using them as your "bible"? I mean, I'm not knocking them, but they are clearly going of draft status on some of these guys and not having Etzel on here when he's totally outplayed everyone else, including Bradfield, in his draft class so far is head scratcher.

I'm not ready to say Etzel is a better prospect than Bradfield yet, but it's not out o the question. I think Bradfield has been working on a new approach and swing this year and that's why the production has been slow to come. 

I still have high hopes for Bradfield and he's still an impact defensive outfielder.

I agree with much of what you are saying but this was in response to someone saying Ethel would be above Bradfield in the prospect rankings, not whether he would actually be better. Fangraphs is odd in that they have a lot of helium on a guy like Young. 

[oriolefan1035]

5 hours ago, SemperFi said:

What?  Context please-Etzel has finished a total of 10 games in CF this year.....I seriously doubt the Orioles have any org charts in the warehouse that list Etzel in front of EBJ especially defensively.  Etzel is a nice story but he doesn't have the ceiling of EBJ and prospect ranking are more projection than MiL production.

I recall checking the box scores towards the end of Etzel’s time in Aberdeen and he was in CF with Bradfield in a corner OF.