Enrique Bradfield Jr.’s late-game heroics snapped Double-A Chesapeake’s recent seven-game losing streak. He launched his first home run of the season, a two-run shot to give the Baysox the 4-2 win against Akron in extra innings on June 4.
Bradfield made his return from a hamstring injury on May 20 after being out since April 10. The 23-year-old is working to rebuild the confidence he gained last season after returning from injury. The 6-foot, 170-pound outfielder is slashing .243/.364/.365 with nine stolen bases in 23 games for Chesapeake this season entering play on June 12.
Last season, Bradfield got a taste of Double-A and hit .287/.395/.396 in 27 games with the Baysox.
“Getting to Double-A and having the performance that I had in the last six weeks of the year to end my 2024, it definitely helped me find some confidence that I hadn’t had in a long time, some confidence that I showed when I was playing some of my best ball in college,” Bradfield said on Glenn Clark Radio June 5. “And then I used that to build my offseason. … Obviously, the injury deterred that a little bit and slowed that process down, but I feel like I’m getting back to a good place where I could continue to build night by night.”
Bradfield was happy to help give the team a much-needed win at the time.
“We’ve been playing some good baseball, and honestly, we haven’t had some things fall our way — we’ve been swinging the bat well, hitting hard lineouts,” Bradfield said. “It’s a tough game we play at times. … So, to be able to help the team back into the win column, that felt good. But it just kind of speaks to having to continue to push forward, regardless of what things look like in the moment.”
Bradfield has been known for his speed and defense dating back to his days at Vanderbilt, which translated to 74 stolen bases in his first full season as a pro. Bradfield is not focused on becoming a power hitter. His priority is developing his swing, especially after the time he has missed.
“I feel like my swing is in a great position, it’s just more so I can’t make up for the lost time in a couple weeks that I’ve been back now,” Bradfield said. “I just have to be patient with myself. I can’t get six weeks’ worth of hits in three. So, I’m just trying to stay patient and give myself time. … It’s going to take some time. There’s a lot of baseball to be played, and it’s still early in the year.”
The No. 17 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft, Bradfield spoke to Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins during spring training to learn about his mentality toward preparation, a process that Bradfield has since carried with him.
“Spring training is pretty much a process for him,” Bradfield said. “When he gets there, he’s trying to find his footing and trying to slow the game down, but then he gets to a point where the amount of reps that he’s stacking on a daily basis, they start to really kick in. And then now he feels like, OK, he’s on the other side of that. So then he’s trying to walk himself back to some middle ground. … That type of process is something I could use going forward, especially coming back from my injury.”
Bradfield credits Mullins for helping him understand that there is a process to returning from an injury after having missed multiple weeks, and other people do not dictate what one’s progress should be.
“I was playing well when I went down,” Bradfield said. “So, of course, there’s some want to come back and jump right into that, but the reality is it’s not realistic. … I missed time, so looking up at the scoreboard and looking at other guys’ numbers and all that type of stuff … that does nothing for me. It’s my own journey and my own race, so I can thank Cedric for kind of giving me that perspective on it.”
For more from Bradfield, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Baysox team photographer Joe Noyes