7th Overall: D-Backs Select Archie Bradley
With two picks in the first round, Arizona Diamondbacks’ fans had to be excited. They went with Trevor Bauer as the third pick, and took the Oklahoma committed quarterback with pick number seven. (Big 12 football certainly took a big hit this weekend, assuming both Bradley and Starling sign). Bradley is a tremendous athlete and will be an excellent piece for Arizona’s system.
The Goods:
Bradley’s bread and butter is his fastball, while it can touch the high 90’s it sits around the low to mid 90’s. With some work there is opportunity to add some speed to an already plus-potential pitch. Archie also utilizes a nice 12-6 power curveball. His command is decent and can miss the bat easily with the movement. The only criticism is the lack of a third pitch; I do not anticipate this being a problem for the multi-sport athlete to develop.
With the Diamondbacks:
Along with Bauer these two pitchers are certainly going to have fun playing professional baseball. Personally I feel that Bradley’s ceiling is much higher than Bauer’s and he will grow and learn very quickly once he is able to focus on only baseball.
Our friends over at VenomStrikes.com had this to say about Archie Bradley –
This was the issue I had with the Dbacks taking a high school guy, especially one that will probably command a bit of money and one who has committed to college – in another sport. Now, Bradley publicly has come out and said he prefers baseball, but that’s a guy trained to say all the right things at the right time. The question is, will he really feel that way come negotiation time?I guess only time will tell if he actually is able to come to terms with the Dbacks, but this time, they don’t get a do-over with this pick. The 7th pick was due to not signing last years first rounder. You only get 1 second chance. I hope he chooses baseball, as I’m sure the Dbacks do as well. I’ve got to think though they think they have a great shot at signing him though, otherwise they wouldn’t have taken him. I’ve heard it all before though, so good luck!
You can check out the full post on the Bradley pick here. They also have a good scouting video of him, to give you an idea of his mechanics and delivery.
This was a good pick for Arizona, hopefully they can get past any signing issues and play ball.
EDITOR’S NOTE: For more on Archie Bradley and the Arizona Diamondbacks in general, check out Venom Strikes.