NEW YORK — Enrique Bradfield Jr. had a bus ride to remember.
The Orioles promoted their 2023 first-round pick to Double-A Bowie last week, placing a strong vote of confidence in the 22-year-old outfielder after he put together a promising season in High-A Aberdeen. IronBirds manager Felipe Alou Jr. delivered the news just after the team wrapped up a road trip in North Carolina, giving Bradfield and his teammates something to celebrate during their long ride back to Maryland.
“Felipe pulled me into his office and he gave me the news,” Bradfield told The Baltimore Sun in a phone interview. “He’s like, ‘There’s good and bad news. This is going to be your last [road trip]. You’ll be riding the bus eight hours with us back but it’s going to be your last road trip with us because you’re going to Bowie and you’ll be joining them next week.’ So, that was obviously exciting to hear. It’s been something that I’ve been working toward since the beginning of the year and I feel like it was deserving and I put in the days and the time to be able to have this.”
Bradfield has been one of the most prolific base runners in the minor leagues this season. The Vanderbilt product swiped two bases in his first five games with Bowie to push his total to 61 on the year, second most in the minors behind Tampa Bay Rays outfield prospect Chandler Simpson (83). He reached base at a strong clip of .345 in Aberdeen and kept his strikeouts down to a respectable 16.7% rate, offering plenty of hope he could lead off in Baltimore one day.
While he didn’t display much power with three home runs in 81 games, the Orioles don’t want Bradfield to sacrifice extra chances to get on base for a few more balls over the fence. His focus during his work with IronBirds hitting coach Zach Cole has centered on spraying the ball to all fields and making solid contact consistently. Even if he hits it on the ground — he had a 50.8% groundball rate in Aberdeen — Bradfield has the speed to turn those balls into hits.
“I would just say it’s how do we strengthen his profile the best?” Cole said of the thinking behind his swing changes. “We definitely like power and hitting. Everybody likes to hit tanks. But for him, and the speed abilities and things that he has, a single is just as valuable as a slug because he’s got such a chance to swipe the next bag, maybe two. So, just optimizing how can we get on base the most with the solid contact ability that he has? And just use that to our advantage the best.”
The contact-first approach coupled with access to more information about opposing pitchers’ tendencies has helped Bradfield unlock his potential as a base stealer. He studied scouting reports in college, where he swiped 130 bags in three years for the Commodores, but has improved his recognition of potential stolen-base opportunities and become comfortable enough to let his instincts take over when he gets on base.
“Obviously, there’s still the possibility that your opponent can game plan a little differently than you expected and that’s OK,” Bradfield said. “You just got to adapt while you’re out there but at the same time, too, it gives you this level of freedom to go out there and just be you and it’s like, I know what makes me, me. I know what makes me play well. I know how to do it. So, it’s just going out there and being free. I’m not going to be out there thinking a lot. I’ve already come up with a game plan and I’m looking for that one thing, maybe two things, and then I’m going.”
With his speed, contact skills and outfield defense that Bradfield himself describes as “elite,” the major leagues might not be too distant a dream. Bradfield expects to finish out the season in Double-A and return there for the start of next season, but another campaign like the one he has put together in 2024 will thrust him into the conversation for a spot in the Orioles’ outfield.
“It almost feels like a reset in my year,” Bradfield said. “I have five weeks to really get to experience this level before probably coming back here to start the year next year, so I really want to use this experience to be able to help me game plan for my offseason. I’m just kind of really wanting to get in there, be around the guys and the coaching staff, learn as much as I can so I can take that and build that into my game plan going into the offseason.”
“I know what makes me, me. I know what makes me play well. I know how to do it. So, it’s just going out there and being free,” Enrique Bradfield Jr. said. (Nick Wass/AP)
Pipeline performers
Bradfield is far from the only player in the Orioles’ farm system making the case for a premium spot on the Orioles’ organizational depth chart. That’s why each week, The Baltimore Sun will break down five of the top performers in the Orioles’ prospect ranks and hand out some superlatives for those who didn’t make that cut.
1. Double-A Bowie outfielder Dylan Beavers
Leading the Orioles’ farm system last week was Beavers, who took home the Eastern League Player of the Week Award after compiling four multihit games on his way to a .450 batting average with four RBIs and a 1.210 OPS. Beavers walked (five) more times than he struck out (four) and stole two bases to fill every corner of the box score.
2. Triple-A Norfolk right-handed pitcher Brandon Young
A name the Orioles’ front office is paying close attention to, Young continued his impressive season with back-to-back one-run outings against the Gwinnett Stripers. Young struck out 10 and walked only two over 10 2/3 innings of work, lowering his ERA with Norfolk this season to 3.38 in 15 games (13 starts).
3. Double-A Bowie right-handed pitcher Alex Pham
Pham was practically unhittable for Bowie last week. After allowing just three base hits over a scoreless five innings Tuesday, he carried a no-hit bid into the sixth inning Sunday before settling for a stat line of seven innings, three hits, two runs, one walk and three strikeouts. Pham has a 1.87 ERA over his past seven starts.
4. Low-A Delmarva catcher Ethan Anderson
Anderson, taken in the second round of last month’s MLB draft, made his professional debut last week. After being held hitless over his first two games, he exploded for seven knocks over his next three games, including a double and a triple. Anderson only struck out once on the week and drew three walks.
5. Low-A Delmarva shortstop Griff O’Ferrall
Not far behind was fellow draftee and Virginia teammate O’Ferrall, who barely needed to lift his bat off his shoulder. The shortstop drew seven walks in his first five games, posting a .636 on-base percentage with a double and four runs scored. Like Anderson, O’Ferrall also struck out just once to showcase the strong plate discipline that made him worthy of a Day 1 draft pick.
The top prospect not featured so far
Samuel Basallo had a tough week at the plate (.204 batting average) but made a pair of highlight-reel plays at different positions. Playing first base on Aug. 11, Basallo showed off his flexibility by going full extension with the splits to catch a wide throw from shortstop Frederick Bencosme. He then put his throwing arm on display Friday, throwing out a would-be base stealer with a bullet of a throw from a knee.
International acquisition of the week
While Braylin Tavera’s season in Low-A Delmarva has been disappointing, he showed signs of life this week by hitting .300 (6-for-20), including a game-tying RBI single in extra innings Friday. Tavera, whose $1.7 million signing bonus in 2022 was a then-franchise record for an international amateur free agent, has reached base safely in 14 straight games.
Time to give a shoutout to …
Jake Cunningham, who isn’t on any of the Orioles’ top prospect lists, was promoted to Double-A last week after hitting .208 with High-A Aberdeen. Yet his first week with Bowie couldn’t have gone any better. He won the South Atlantic League Player of the Week Award after going 9-for-17 (.529) with three RBIs and six stolen bases. The 2023 fifth-round draft pick is buried in a deep Orioles outfield depth chart, but he’s made a strong first impression after breaking into the upper levels of their farm system.
Short-season snippets
After garnering mention in this space last week, Stiven Martinez is once again the Orioles’ top standout from their Dominican Summer League squads. The outfielder reached base in all four games, launching his fourth home run of the season and racking up five RBIs. Only 17 years old, Martinez has impressed with a .281/.409/.469 slash line in the DSL this year.
Farm files
Orioles 2022 second-round pick Jud Fabian is being promoted to Triple-A Norfolk, according to a source with direct knowledge of the move. The power-hitting outfielder out of Florida has hit .233 with 18 home runs and a .758 OPS with Double-A Bowie this season. With Kyle Stowers and Connor Norby traded and Heston Kjerstad on the injured list, Fabian is now the lone healthy Orioles top-30 outfield prospect in Triple-A. While a big league promotion down the stretch might be a long shot, he will be a name to watch in spring training next year.