Well it just seems like a perfect time to bring back the first ever series I did for Royals Farm Report last year! One of my favorite things about following Royals minor league baseball is trying to find the under-the-radar prospects in the organization that don’t get enough attention, but have the potential to explode. Last year the series covered:
- Vinnie Pasquantino – 1B
- Drew Parrish – LHP
- Michael Massey – 2B
- Tucker Bradley – OF
- Will Klein – RHP
This year, I expanded the list to six. There has been so much fun talent in the Kansas City Royals minor leagues that it only seemed fitting to add one more. Here is who I’ve covered so:
- Maikel Garcia – SS
- Diego Hernandez – OF
- Noah Cameron – LHP
- Lizandro Rodriguez – 2B
- Carter Jensen – C
Wow! We have made it to the final article of my six-part series cover under-the-radar Royals prospects. It has been one heck of a fun year writing for Royals Farm and bringing you insights to some of our favorite prospects in the system. We know the farm system has taken a bit of the hit with the graduation of many top prospects, but man, are there still some fun names to keep an eye on. Hopefully this series will help you do that.
For my final piece, I just had to cover him again. I know, I know, I covered Tucker Bradley in the 2021 edition of under-the-radar prospects, but I just can’t ignore what he has been doing this year in Northwest Arkansas. He still doesn’t seem to get the attention he deserves. He doesn’t do anything spectacular or have a massive standout tool, but he just does a good heck of job doing a little bit of everything right.
Bradley spent the entire season in Double-A Northwest Arkansas and through 100 games, he slashed .293/.382/.455 with a .823 OPS. That included 22 doubles, three triples, 12 home runs, 53 RBI and 19 stolen bases. He was just so consistent all year long. Even with that successful year, he comes in at #25 on the MLB Pipeline Kansas City Royals top 30 prospects. We even had him at #30 at Royals Farm. Alex did a great job covering him in that write up which you can find here. Alex is spot on. He could do a little more in each category, but does more than enough to make you think there isn’t too much more room for improvement.
He has incredible discipline at the plate and a good feel for the strike zone. Bradley on struckout 18.3% this year and sported a very good 12% walk rate. The 24-year-old Bradley just has an elite hit tool and it is what has carried him through the minors thus far. He doesn’t blow you away on the base paths, but is able to get very good reads and has enough speed to steal a few bags. Defensively, he is average in the outfield. He can play well enough out there not to be a liability. His arm seems to have him sticking in left field, but he has made improvements there.
Bradley is just a curious case as Alex stated in the midseason rankings. There isn’t really too much you can knock about his game besides his arm in the outfield, which as I stated, is improving. He is just a professional hitter who has been basically terrorizing pitchers at every level he gets to. I was on the Tucker Bradley hype train early and often last year and I am not getting off of it. He is by far my favorite undrafted free agent pick from the 2020 COVID draft and he is just another reason, outside of the emergence of Tyler Gentry, that this class is looking to be a good one. Bradley should start 2023 in Triple-A and if he keeps up what he did all of 2022, there is a very good chance we see him make his debut. Bradley has the tools to be a consistent producer on a major league roster. Whether that is as an every day guy or someone who comes off the bench as a fourth outfielder remains to be seen.
Royals Farm Report 
Any idea on Bradley’s end of season injury?
LikeLike