The 10th Rounder vs The 1st Rounder

[RZNJ]

Matthew Etzel and Enrique Bradfield are both 22 and on the same Aberdeen team.   Bradfield has played mostly CF with some time in LF.  Etzel has split his time pretty evenly between all three outfield spots and even played some 1B.  Etzel has started 10 games in CF and Bradfield typically slides to left on those days.   The fact that Etzel was described pre-draft as someone who could stick in CF plus the fact that the Orioles are giving him time there leads me open to the possibility that he can handle it.  Offensively, Etzel is kind of what we wish Bradfield was.  Etzel has 30 steals with 6 CS.  If he remains healthy he’s going to finish with 70 or 80.  On a pace for about 10 homers.   
 

Matthew Etzel

 

Enrique Bradfield

Edited June 7 by RZNJ

[Hank Scorpio]

Very good observation. I think maybe a lot of people are looking at Etzel incorrectly... looking for power that may or may not come. Doesn't mean he's not a viable prospect. 

His rise through the system will be interesting. His BB:K rate is strong but I'm not sure how it'll translate long term.

A faster Verdugo?

[Hazmat]

3 hits for Bradfield last night and 2 for Etzel (plus a BB).  But while Enrique had 3 singles, Etzel hit a 2B and a 3B.

[Sanity Check]

I've seen about a dozen Ironbirds games, and Etzel has been way more impressive than Bradfield with the bat, and Etzel has also looked VERY good in center field, running down balls that I thought he had no chance at.  I'm not confident at all that Bradfield will ever be a serviceable hitter at AAA or at the major league level.  I hope I'm wrong...

[RZNJ]

17 minutes ago, Sanity Check said:

I've seen about a dozen Ironbirds games, and Etzel has been way more impressive than Bradfield with the bat, and Etzel has also looked VERY good in center field, running down balls that I thought he had no chance at.  I'm not confident at all that Bradfield will ever be a serviceable hitter at AAA or at the major league level.  I hope I'm wrong...

I hope Bradfield progresses into the player we hope he can be.  In the meantime let’s talk about Etzel who now leads his league in stolen bases, 11th in OPS,  4th in RBI, 3rd in triples, 11th in doubles, 8th in runs, 5th in hits, and 5th in BA.   

[Sanity Check]

26 minutes ago, RZNJ said:

I hope Bradfield progresses into the player we hope he can be.  In the meantime let’s talk about Etzel who now leads his league in stolen bases, 11th in OPS,  4th in RBI, 3rd in triples, 11th in doubles, 8th in runs, 5th in hits, and 5th in BA.   

Well, I kind of did talk about both of them, since the thread pertained to both guys.

But, I will say I think Etzel is a stud player, and if I had to pick one of those two guys to receive back in a trade - for example - I would take Etzel hands down over Bradfield.  Etzel drives the ball, and to this point, Bradfield really hasn't.  The funny thing to me about Etzel is that, he doesn't look like a fast guy if you're just looking at him, but he can cover some ground, and as you pointed out, his steals are off the charts.

[Frobby]

I’d like to know more about how both Bradfield and Etzel stack up defensively.   When we drafted Bradfield, a lot of scouts had slapped an 80 grade on his defense.  Is he living up to that?  Even accepting that Etzel has shown himself to be a very solid and rangy CF (as @Sanity Checkhas reported), is Bradfield better by a noticeable margin?

We can all read the box scores and stat pages and see that Etzel is a significantly better hitter than Bradfield at this point.  Defense is a lot harder for us casual observers to get our hands around.  

[Tony-OH]

22 hours ago, Frobby said:

I’d like to know more about how both Bradfield and Etzel stack up defensively.   When we drafted Bradfield, a lot of scouts had slapped an 80 grade on his defense.  Is he living up to that?  Even accepting that Etzel has shown himself to be a very solid and rangy CF (as @Sanity Checkhas reported), is Bradfield better by a noticeable margin?

We can all read the box scores and stat pages and see that Etzel is a significantly better hitter than Bradfield at this point.  Defense is a lot harder for us casual observers to get our hands around.  

Defense is a lot harder to judge but Bradfield definitely is more rangier for me in my "limited looks due to bad broadcasts." I do think Etzel is good out there and I'm not saying he can't handle center, but Bradfield just makes those Wow plays. 

I'm going to look harder at his defense with the better broadcasts in AA.

Saying all that, Etzel is doing EXACTLY what we had hoped Bradfield would do. Now it's way too early to declare Etzel a better prospects than Bradfield, but I'm not discarding the idea either. All things considered, Etzel has definitely been the better pro so far. Let's see how he handles the jump to AA. That should give us a better indicator.

[Three Run Homer]

Bradfield  :  RGIII

Etzel  :   Kirk Cousins 

[Sports Guy]

 

[Frobby]

1 hour ago, Tony-OH said:

Defense is a lot harder to judge but Bradfield definitely is more rangier for me in my "limited looks due to bad broadcasts." I do think Etzel is good out there and I'm not saying he can't handle center, but Bradfield just makes those Wow plays. 

I'm going to look harder at his defense with the better broadcasts in AA.

Saying all that, Etzel is doing EXACTLY what we had hoped Bradfield would do. Now it's way too early to declare Etzel a better prospects than Bradfield, but I'm not discarding the idea either. All things considered, Etzel has definitely been the better pro so far. Let's see how he handles the jump to AA. That should give us a better indicator.

I’ve heard reports that the Aberdeen camera feed is significantly improved over last year.  Do you disagree, or is this a case where it’s improved but still mediocre?   

As to Etzel, I’d say his .172 ISO is better than I ever would have expected out of Bradfield, who even in college only sported a .136 career ISO.  I’m looking forward to seeing him perform at Bowie.
 

[Tony-OH]

12 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I’ve heard reports that the Aberdeen camera feed is significantly improved over last year.  Do you disagree, or is this a case where it’s improved but still mediocre?   

As to Etzel, I’d say his .172 ISO is better than I ever would have expected out of Bradfield, who even in college only sported a .136 career ISO.  I’m looking forward to seeing him perform at Bowie.
 

Aberdeen added a nice center field camera but their cuts to the action can leave a lot to be desired. But the whole league is pretty weak in that regard. Etzel is not a punch and judy hitter and can get into one once in awhile, but I think scouts just expect more power for his size. 

I like him overall, and I realize many previous hitter's power numbers were not great in Aberdeen, so let's see how he looks in Bowie and the Eastern league's friendly confines. 

[LookinUp]

Etzel getting to AA before Bradfield tells me he's taken the lead at the quarter pole. That doesn't mean he'll win the race in the end, but Bradfield has been passed.

[Tony-OH]

42 minutes ago, LookinUp said:

Etzel getting to AA before Bradfield tells me he's taken the lead at the quarter pole. That doesn't mean he'll win the race in the end, but Bradfield has been passed.

That's a good analogy of the situation.

[Rbiggs2525]

As long as we get one starting CF out of the draft, I don’t care which round it was. We are lucky to have such a deep system that Etzel goes under the radar.