The new beginning of the Bobby Bradley story in Cleveland was not a good one.
That is if a fan is to look at the final score of 18-5 against the Baltimore Orioles. A loss that looked very bad for the team, as a whole.
However, taking a look at Bradley’s stats and one may find a grain of salt in the beatdown in Baltimore.
The first baseman went 3-4 with a home run, a double, three runs batted in and two runs scored.
Now, this is not the first time seeing Bradley on the major league club. In 2013, the left-hander played 15 games for the Indians, had one home run and four runs batted in.
This in just 45 at-bats. Thus, a very small sample size.
Making way through the minor league system since the 2014 season, at 18-years-old started a career in the Arizona League. Bradley went through Lake County, Akron, Columbus, amongst others throughout the
years until now.
What the Indians need at the Major League level is a player that is able to produce the power that was shown in the minors.
Bradley has had seasons in the Minor Leagues with peak home run totals from 27 to 33 blasts. Sure, this is against pitching that is not from Major Leaguers.
Even so, it shows just how much power is possible from the slugger.
The club is currently sitting in second place with a 31-26 record in the AL Central, four games back of the White Sox.
The addition of Bradley is clearly an attempt to try and get ahead in the standings.
Frankly, at age 25 and with very little experience in the big leagues, this is not a do-or-die situation for Bradley.
Even if there are struggles throughout this opportunity, it’ll obviously take more work in the minors and likely another shot in the coming years.
The ultimate hope is that Bradley finds the stroke in the Major League as a member of the Indians and is able to thrive playing first base while helping the team compete for the playoffs.
If that happens, it’ll do wonders for a team that needs a jolt.
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