Jed Bradley being converted to a reliever

[ewitkows]

Phoenix - Left-hander Jed Bradley, a first-round draft pick by the Brewers in 2011 who has not progressed as hoped, is being converted from a starting pitcher to reliever this spring.

 

“That’s the role they see me having the most success in,” said Bradley. I trust them. This spring has been and will be a little bit of an adjustment period. But I’ve always been a guy that will do whatever it takes.”

[JohnBriggs12]

If you look at his righty/lefty splits last year they were stunning. RH hitters clubbed him for an .832 OPS. By contrast, he dominated LH hitters to the tune of .504 OPS against. Seems logical that his path to the big leagues is as a reliever. If he takes to it, I could see him making it to Milwaukee sometime in 2015.

[brewmann04]

Kind of disappointed to see such a High Pick having to be converted to a reliever. But I guess if it gets him to the Brewers faster then that is a Positive.

[JohnBriggs12]

Kind of disappointed to see such a High Pick having to be converted to a reliever. But I guess if it gets him to the Brewers faster then that is a Positive.

 

Without question you don't take guys that high to be relievers but he wasn't close to making it as a starter, and it's better to get some value at the big league level than none. Brewer system isn't exactly brimming with quality lefty relievers when you go out and have to overpay to get a Neal Cotts.

[MrTPlush]

Rumor has it they will put him in AAA.

[DHonks]

Was at the game last night. Saw a fairly tall, lanky lefty in the game in the 8th inning and (correctly) guessed it was Bradley. I'm no expert, but I swear he was tipping pitches. Sitting behind home plate, I saw a pitcher that used his legs differently for fastballs and off-speed selections. On off-speed, he dropped his lead foot and then would take a short stride forward to the plate (Think Carlos Villanueva). On fastballs (registering 89-93) he cleared his hips early and took a longer stride. May not mean much, but we correctly predicted his last several pitches based on this pattern we saw in his first few. Not sure if that gives a hitter enough time to jump on pitches, but that's at least what I noticed and my friend agreed with.

[JohnBriggs12]

Interesting observation but I wouldn't draw any conclusions. It's not like trained pitching coaches haven't worked with him before and wouldn't notice something so obvious that a fan in the stands picked it up. It's spring training. He may have just been working on something. Besides hitters concentrate on release point and arm action. If their eyes are focused on hips and legs, they won't have time to react to the ball.

[igor67]

Lefty specialist is certainly not what one hopes for, but I'm always in the better to get something useful out of a draft pick than nothing.

[brewmann04]

Well @ least if he goes to 3 A he join Jungmann there.

Yes you are right @ this point better to get something that nothing but that pick has to be disappointing.

[Outlander]

It is not ideal that Bradley may end up being a lefty specialist but there certainly is value in paying him league minimum versus a guy like Cotts $3 million.

[brewmann04]

I have a Feeling Cotts is going to Bomb this season No reason to this just have that feeling.

[reillymcshane]

Jed has always shutdown lefties. He has to figure out righties to be anything more than a LOOGY.

 

Hopefully in the bullpen he can turn up his fastball a notch or two, then focus on developing another good pitch - one that can at least be passable against right handers. All that can, hopefully, make him effective.

[JohnBriggs12]

Jed has always shutdown lefties. He has to figure out righties to be anything more than a LOOGY.

 

Hopefully in the bullpen he can turn up his fastball a notch or two, then focus on developing another good pitch - one that can at least be passable against right handers. All that can, hopefully, make him effective.

 

Brewers have enough arms that can get out RH hitters. They certainly could use a lefty that can get out a guy like Votto, Adams, or Rizzo in a key situation. Again, not it's not the return you like from a 1st round pick, but some return is better than none. He can work on getting better against RH hitters in the minors but if he does get called up it will be to be a LOOGY.

[brewmann04]

Now according to TOM H BLOG RR LIKES Ariel Pena as a Reliever so maybe we have some cheap reliever down the line

[reillymcshane]

No according to TOM H BLOG RR LIKES Ariel Pena as a Reliever so maybe we have some cheap reliever down the line

Pena, Hellweg, Knebel, Goforth, Bradley and Thornburg (if he's a reliever) - all those guys can throw hard. I wish they would have moved Hellweg and Pena to relieving a year ago. Neither guy seemed like they had the control to be major league starters. Now controlling their pitches is another matter, but I like that we have some guys that seem like legit arms coming up. I realize it's a crapshoot on these types of players, but I'd rather take risks on guys like this than throwing $3 million at guys like Cotts. Even if Cotts does well, he's gone in a year. These other guys have potential to give us 5-6 years of decent play at a good rate.

 

I'm all for patching together the bullpen with veterans - but only as needed. I'd rather see us develop more of these players - something we haven't done much of over the years.

[SoupTown]

It really would be a cost savings measure to replace a couple $3 mill contracts with 500k ones. And the 500k ones, PERHAPS have the ability to improve into a lights out reliever or perhaps a mid/back end reliever.

 

It seems the Brewers have a few young arms they should be banking on, at least for the last couple of spots in the bullpen.... next year.

[fondybrewfan]

It really is hard to make the big leagues; even though Jungmann and Bradley have taken longer to develop than hoped; they won't be complete busts if they can make it and contribute on some level. Even for 1st rounders it just isn't easy to make the big show in any role let alone a star.

[reillymcshane]

It really is hard to make the big leagues; even though Jungmann and Bradley have taken longer to develop than hoped; they won't be complete busts if they can make it and contribute on some level. Even for 1st rounders it just isn't easy to make the big show in any role let alone a star.

Very, very true. I think I looked at Top 100 prospect starting pitchers over a 10 year period and found that roughly 2/3 to 3/4 of them fail as starters in the big leagues. A lot them become successful relievers, but so many of them just don't amount to anything. Some of that is injuries, some of it the guy just doesn't put it all together. It's a tough thing to do.

[FVBrewerFan]

Also, important to note he's still young. If he can be an effective LOOGY in MLB, that's a good start. It doesn't mean he won't eventually learn how to get RH bats out, and have a bigger role in the pen or even a starter again. Some guys figure it out, most don't. Just too early to tell, but I would be fine with 6 cheap years from a guy who can get lefties out on a regular basis.

[brwrsfan]

If Bradley turns into an effective big league relief pitcher, or even just a solid LOOGY, I'd take that in a heartbeat. As someone else has said, getting to the MLB level isn't easy, even for first round picks. Sure, you have high hopes for them when they are drafted, but look at how many guys just simply never make the MLB roster. Getting someone that can contribute, even in a minor role like a LOOGY is a success IMO.

[DHonks]

Remember Kelly Wunsch? Too bad we didn't figure out his role, as he had a nice career.

[SRB]

Being a LOOGY doesn't get you the endorsement deals, but if he can translate those splits vs. LHB to the majors, he could be a valuable part of our bullpen for 6+ years (and have a long career after that). Nothing wrong with that at all.

[brewcrewdue80]

I'll be happy the Brewers developed a Loogy of their own. I'm not going to say Bradley being that will last 6+years team control. If he's a Loogy I can't see him lasting on the team that long before being moved, because there's probably someone better, someone cheaper, or someone in trade needed more than a Loogy. Let's get 3years out of him to be satisfied, a 4th/5th when he's in arb, I'll be hesistant to call for. Bradley isn't that young to be looking to count on 4+years from now as a Loogy.