Draft : : Top Prospects
50 in 50: Archie Bradley
Published: Sunday, May 15, 2011
Archie Bradley
RHP / Broken Arrow HS
Bats-Throws:
R-R
Height/Weight:
6-4/210
Hometown:
Muskogee, Okla.
College Commitment:
Oklahoma
Birthdate:
August 10, 1992
SCOUTING PROFILE:
Bradley is invariably linked to fellow Oklahoma righthander Dylan Bundy, widely
considered to be the top pitching prospect in the 2011 high-school class. While
they attend high schools 20 miles apart in suburban Tulsa, they have known each
other since they were eight years old, and Bradley was recently quoted in a
Tulsa World newspaper article as saying, “We’re almost like brothers.” Their
scheduled head-to-head matchup on April 15 was one of the most-anticipated
high-school games of the year nationally, but was canceled due to wet field
conditions that some at the field. Bradley and Bundy got a second opportunity to
hook up against each other May 14 when Broken Arrow High (35-2), the state’s No.
1-ranked team, met Owasso (35-1), the nation’s No. 1-ranked team, met in the
Oklahoma 6-A championship game. But Bundy had thrown 82 pitches in Owasso’s
semi-final round wins two days earlier, and was unavailable for the final.
Bradley was overpowering, allowing two hits and striking out 14 in a 4-0 Broken
Arrow win. He even got the upper hand on Bundy, a .480 hitter with 11 home runs
on the season, striking him out three times, once on a 98-mph fastball. The loss
ended Owasso’s 33-game winning streak and denied the team its ninth state title
in 14 years. While Bradley is clearly ranked behind Bundy on the draft pecking
order, the difference is small and Bradley is generally evaluated among the top
3-4 high-school pitching prospects nationally. He actually ranked slightly ahead
of Bundy at the outset of the 2011 season, but Bundy moved past him over the
course of the spring—partly because Bundy was consistently dominant in every
outing, partly because Bradley’s velocity fluctuated from one outing to the
next. Still, Bradley’s record on the season was an impressive 11-1, 0.31 with
130 strikeouts in 68 innings. Unlike the stockier-built Bundy, Bradley has a
profile pitcher’s build at 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, along with an easy, athletic
delivery that creates outstanding downhill power to the plate. He pitched mostly
in the 91-94 mph range this spring, and topped out at 96 before reaching 98 in
his final outing. His 80-mph curve has serious power and spin, and has definite
potential as a second plus pitch for him, while his changeup is still
developing. Bradley also has very good command for a young power pitcher and his
overall athleticism should enable him to make adjustments easily as he moves up
the baseball ladder. While his talent is clear to the scouting community,
Bradley is still somewhat of a wild-card in the draft due to his status as a
two-sport standout. He is ranked as a 3-star pro-style quarterback by ESPN, and
is the highest-ranked prep quarterback in the 2011 class in Oklahoma. He has
signed a baseball scholarship with Oklahoma, but Bradley has been given
preferred walk-on status to the football team and undoubtedly could have signed
a full football ride with the Sooners, or any number of other schools, if it
weren’t for the complications of baseball. The football status of both Bradley
and Kansas outfielder Bubba Starling, a second two-sport prospect who is a
slam-dunk to be drafted in the first round, brings into play the $5.25 million
deal that quarterback/righthander Zach Lee signed last year with the Los Angeles
Dodgers as the 28th overall pick. Lee was a 4-star quarterback at a
suburban Dallas high school with a football ride to Louisiana State, but would
have almost definitely ranked behind Bradley as a pitching prospect. Scouts have
indicated that Bradley’s camp is circulating the figure of $6 million, a bonus
that would be spread out over the standard five-year contract for dual-sport
athletes.
Projected Draft Position:
First round / picks 10-25
--DAVID RAWNSLEY
Perfect Game Events Attended
2008 WWBA 2009 Grads or 17u National Championship
2008 WWBA World Championship
2009 WWBA 2010 Grads or 17u National Championship
2010 AFLAC All-American Game
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