Cleveland Indians: Top 5 prospects entering Spring Training
By Eric Pitcher
3. Bobby Bradley, 1B
The Cleveland Indians lost Carlos Santana this off-season but that is alright. They signed Yonder Alonso and they have a Carlos Santana 2.0 in their sights.
Bobby Bradley is the next big power hitting slugger the Indians are waiting for.
Bradley has quickly made his way through the Indians farm system. In 2014, when the Indians drafted Bradley, he quickly began making a name for himself. In the Rookie-Arizona league, Bradley was able to capture the triple crown award.
Arguably one of the most difficult transitions for young players, going from Single-A to Double-A, Bradley was able to improve in a lot of important categories. He did hit 6 fewer home runs. However, in 2016 he struck out 170 times. In 2017 he dropped that to 122 times. Bradley did draw fewer walks but was also able to improve his average 16 points in just one year.
Bradley’s ground ball is one thing that needs to be worked on. In 2017, Bradley hit a ground ball roughly 45% of the time he came up to the plate. On the flip side of that, if Bradley can get the ball in the air, 19% of the time it is going to fly over the fence for a home run.
Bradley received a non-roster spring training invite which will only benefit him. Being able to see major league pitching will be very beneficial. It will be Bradley’s bat that gets him to the majors. He has a very average glove and is not the fastest burner on the bases either. With the addition of Alonso and having Edwin Encarnacion it only makes sense for Bradley to start the year in Triple-A.