Top Rays pitching prospect Taj Bradley made his Major League debut this past Wednesday, April 12^th against the Boston Red Sox. In this post, we’ll walk through how he did and different strategies he used.

If you prefer video breakdowns, check out this video:

Bradley finished with a final line of 5 IP, 5 H, 3 ER , and 8 K. He showcased four pitches:

• Fourseam
• Cutter
• Curveball
• Changeup (minimal usage – might be a splitter?)

The fourseam and the cutter were the two pitches he leaned on most, but he also occasionally mixed in the curveball and increased its usage a bit the second time through the order. The changeup might actually be a splitter, but it is hard to tell without knowing how Bradley grips the pitch.

Each pitch has unique movement:

The fourseam featured above average ride, which was evident in the frequent whiffs it was getting, the curveball features above average depth, and the cutter has above average cut. There is a nice velocity gap between the fourseam, cutter, and changeup that forces hitters to not only adjust to different movement profiles, but also to different timing.

Walking Through the Start: First Time Through the Order

First time through the order we saw a heavy mix of fourseams and cutters. He mixed which of his four pitches he threw first pitch and actually threw more off-speed and breaking pitches first pitch than his fourseam.

In two strike counts, he went to his fourseam the majority of the time as an out-pitch. He did not throw the curveball until the 7^th batter, Reese McGuire. From them on, the curveball was used either early in the count or as an additional option for an out pitch with two strikes.

Second Time Through the Order

Bradley threw the curveball a lot more frequently the second time through the order, but still relied on the fourseam and cutter the majority of the time. He trusted each of the three pitches against both hands. All three of his pitches were used first pitch, but he was mostly first pitch fourseam and curveball. He was also majority fourseam and curveball in counts with two strikes.

Takeaways

Bradley has three pitches that he feels comfortable using against both hands. He feels comfortable starting an at-bat using any of his three main pitches: fourseam, cutter, curveball. He’s not afraid to switch things up and throw any of his pitches in any situation. This is very intriguing in my opinion because Bradley will not be very predictable. In two strike counts, he mostly leans on his fourseam and curveball.  

Bradley was struggling a bit with command, especially of his fastball, which might have just been because he was excited about his debut.

His fastball is good enough to be thrown in zone and get in-zone miss. Ideally, he’ll be able to hit the middle and top edge of the zone with that fourseam and get more swings and misses next time he pitches.

The curveball ended up in the heart of the plate a little too frequently than I’m assuming he would’ve liked, but the Red Sox did not capitalize. I think he could get more swing and miss from the curveball in the future if he threw it to the lower third of the zone. That way you’d have a riding fastball on the middle/upper third, depthy curveball on the lower third, and a cutter to the inner/outer edges moving gloveside. So three pitches moving in three different directions with a ~9mph velocity gap between each one.

Speaking of velocity, Bradley held his very well through five innings. His final pitch was a 96 mph fourseam and that velocity stayed in the 94-97 range throughout the outing.

Ending Thoughts

Taj Bradley had the opportunity to pitch due to an injury to Zach Eflin, who was placed on the 15-day IL. We might see at least one more start from Bradley while Eflin recovers, but he is off to a great start. He has three really solid weapons that we saw on Wednesday. Once he gets settled in I think he’s going to be a tough pitcher to face.