Bradley’s struggles with breaking pitches (specifically sliders) caused enough concern that his cup of coffee only lasted three weeks. According to Statcast, Bradley saw 52 sliders in 2019 and hit for a .046 wOBA on such pitches. His swinging strike rate on sliders was 27%; he didn’t get a single hit off of a slider that season. After a wait of almost two years, he’s demonstrated throughout his second stint in the majors that he can now hit a big league slider. Four of Bradley’s 10 homers on the season have come against the pitch. His swinging strike rate is down a bit at around 20%, but he’s clearly seeing the pitch better. This proves out in how he’s reacting to sliders out of the zone. Bradley chased sliders out of the zone at a rate of 45% in 2019, with a SwStr% of 32.5%. He’s nearly cut that SwStr% in half this season, bringing it down to 17.7%.
It’s not just sliders though. His ability to see the ball has generally improved. His O-Swing% has dropped from 35.3% to 26.5%. This has resulted in a significant improvement in his walk rate (8.2% to 10.9%) and strikeout rate (40.8% to 30.3%). Sustaining those improvements is absolutely vital to Bradley’s survival at the big league level.
