Cleveland Indians power-hitting prospect Bobby Bradley on the rise
Since making his professional debut in 2014, Bobby Bradley has quickly become one of Cleveland’s most promising prospects. The 20-year-old first baseman has rapidly risen through the ranks of the Indians Player Development System in his three seasons with the organization.
Bradley was selected by Cleveland in the third round of the 2014 First-Year Player Draft and was immediately put to work with the AZL Indians just three weeks later. He batted .361 over 39 games with Cleveland’s rookie affiliate — a mark that earned him Arizona League MVP honors.
His exceptional rookie performance provided him with a promotion to Lake County, where he spent the majority of his sophomore season. Bradley proved his power in 2015, leading the Midwest League with 27 home runs and 92 RBI. Another strong performance led to yet another promotion, as he joined the Lynchburg Hillcats in September of 2015.
“It’s really exciting just to see myself move as fast as I am and be able to compete against a lot of older guys,” Bradley said during the Indians Fall Development Program in September. “It’s really fun just seeing how (my older teammates) go about their work and learning from them.”
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The Gulfport, Miss., native spent all of last season at Lynchburg as the anchor of one of the Carolina League’s top offenses, and helped secure the Hillcats’ first-place finish in the Carolina League Northern Division. Bradley led the league in both homers and RBI on the way to his second career MVP award.
Bradley’s numbers weren’t just impressive on a Single-A scale. His 129 RBI were the most by any player in Cleveland’s Minor League system last year, and his 29 home runs were the second-most.
His remarkable 2016 campaign landed him on Baseball America’s Top 10 Indians’ prospects list as fifth-best in the organization heading into the 2017 season.
Now that he’s already established himself a power hitter, Bradley says his next focus will be to “just [have] a more solid approach at the plate … try not to do too much and just stay within myself.”
Though he still has a few levels to climb before breaking into the Majors, Bradley is certainly someone to keep an eye on in the years to come.
— TribeVibe contributor Kailey Adams
