Enrique Bradfield Jr. was selected 17th overall by the Baltimore Orioles in the 2023 MLB Draft on July 9, becoming the fifth straight position player to be drafted by the Orioles in the first round.
Bradfield is known mostly for his speed and center field defense, but he is thrilled to work with the Orioles’ hitting staff because they have had so much success developing hitters the last several years.
“I’m joining an organization that, in the recent years, has been having probably the most success in baseball at developing hitters,” Bradfield said on Glenn Clark Radio July 14. “I’m excited to get with coaches to learn, to have some more guidance, to be able to really get that process and get to where I need to be.”
Bradfield is coming off a junior year at Vanderbilt in which he hit .279/.410/.429 with 65 hits, 6 home runs, 34 RBIs, 69 runs scored, 40 strikeouts and 37 stolen bases. Though it was a productive season, it marked the worst year of his college career with the bat.
Hitting is an area of his game that Bradfield understands needs work. He says he has been working on it and has made great strides since his college season ended.
The Orioles have helped numerous hitters, such as Gunnar Henderson and Adley Rutschman, develop into elite and dangerous hitters. Bradfield may be in the perfect organization to find his swing and develop into a consistent hitter.
His father, Enrique Bradfield Sr., believes that with some adjustments to his son’s swing, Bradfield can grow into more power.
“We always hear about the hitting tool, and the one hitting tool is being associated with power,” he said. “Since he was younger, we never were concerned with the power aspect of the game. His swing was tooled to use his speed.”
With the Orioles being one of the best teams in baseball currently, Bradfield Jr. is fired up to be playing for the organization. Bradfield said that he is excited to pick the brains of the young, talented ballplayers with the Orioles. He is driven by the fact that he knows that this team will be competitive for years to come.
“It’s very exciting. I think for sure it’s a competition. It’s something that drives me, and to be surrounded in the farm system that has a ton of very talented individuals is something I’m looking forward to being a part of,” Bradfield said.
Bradfield played for Vanderbilt University for three years before turning to the professional ranks to start a new chapter of his career. The 6-foot-1, 170-pound outfielder had impressive numbers during his time at Vanderbilt, hitting .311/.425/.447 with 224 hits, 15 home runs, 108 RBIs, 198 runs and 130 steals.
Bradfield said that when he met Vanderbilt head coach Tim Corbin for the very first time, they only spent 15 minutes discussing baseball during a two-hour meeting. The meeting was more focused on who Bradfield is as a person, his background, his motivation in life and his family. Bradfield said once the meeting had concluded, his mind was already set on attending school in Nashville.
“It was the best experience I’ve ever had in life up to this point,” Bradfield said. “I wouldn’t change choosing to go to that program a single day in my life. I was looking for a place where I was going to become a better human.”
Bradfield Sr. said he knew his son had a chance to play at a high level from a young age.
“It actually hit me very early,” Bradfield Sr. said. “… We put him in tee ball. At that age, you see kids just running around and playing with the grass and doing everything. He already had the concept of, ‘OK, I’ve got to grab the ball, run the bases, somebody hits the ball, I’ve got to get the ball and touch a base,’ so we had to move him up.”
Speed has always been a big part of Bradfield’s game. With the NCAA not having any rules regulating pickoff attempts, Bradfield said that he would have games in which pitchers attempted to pick him off 11 times in one inning. That would tire him out throughout that inning because he would have to dive back to the base, get up and take his lead again.
Ahead of this season, MLB instituted a rule in which pitchers are allowed just two “disengagements” per plate appearance. Bradfield said that this rule caters to a player like himself. He is excited to see how this can change his game.
It all starts with getting on base.
“It was something that was really ingrained in me at a young age — like, ‘Look, you’re fast, if you can get on base without doing anything, essentially by a walk or a hit by a pitch, you could steal second, steal third, and on a ground ball, you could score, and it’s just that simple to get a run,'” Bradfield said. “That’s kind of where my mind really goes when I’m thinking about getting on base.”
For more from Enrique Bradfield Jr. and his father, Enrique Bradfield Sr., listen to the full interview here:
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