Bobby Bradley (1B, CLE) - Week 13 Waiver Wire Pickups

3 years ago by Mike Marteny

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BALLER MOVE: Add in leagues of 12+ teams

ROSTERED IN: 22% of leagues

ANALYSIS: Bradley struggled in his September call-up in 2019 and didn't play last year due to the pandemic. Cleveland started him at AAA Columbus this year to get his footing back under him. After hitting just .196 in 26 games, he got the call to the show. Why? Because Josh Naylor was even worse. Bradley did hit nine homers at Columbus and has a track record of mashing in the minors. Bradley was extraordinarily unlucky at Columbus this year with a .182 BABIP. His metrics told a much better story than that offputting batting average.

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It appears that hitting in Cleveland is easier than in Columbus. In his first 14 games with Cleveland this year, Bradley is hitting .283 with five homers and 12 RBI. The five walks in 51 at-bats are a nice touch as well. The .283/.353/.652 slash line is nice, but can he keep it up over the long term?

The metrics suggest that he can. The .292 BABIP isn't out of the ordinary, and Bradley hits the ball hard. The 91.4% average exit velocity and 114.2 maximum exit velocity are both well into the 90th percentile. He also has a superb 21.9% barrel percentage. Bradley has more barrels (seven) than some guys have in over 200 at-bats this year! His expected stats are not much lower than they currently are. In fact, his xwOBA is higher than his current OBA.

If you are in need of power, give Bradley a look. He hit more than 25 homers in every full minor league season except 2017 when he fell just short. Bradley's plate discipline has been an issue at most stops along the way, but so far he is only striking out at a 27.5% clip with a nice 9.8% walk rate. If he can keep that up, his average wont hurt you and he could be even more of an asset in leagues that count OBP.

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