Archie Bradley

By Steve Melewski

Orioles

June 06, 2011, 2:53pm

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With the fourth pick in tonight's draft the Orioles selected Oklahoma prep right-hander Archie Bradley. His name first surfaced in the last 18 hours or so as someone that could be high on the O's draft board. Bradley, out of Broken Arrow High, goes 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds and this year went 12-1 with an ERA of 0.29. In 71 innings he walked 11 and fanned 137. Bradley pitched a two-hit shutout and fanned 14 when his school, Broken Arrow, beat Bundy's Owasso squad for the Oklahoma 6-A state championship in mid-May. Bradley was pitching on two days rest then and didn't pitch against Bundy that day. Bundy played third base during the championship game and struck out three times against Bradley. According to reports, Bradley was off a bit with his fastball velocity early in the season, but later was sitting between 92-95 and topping out at 97 and 98. His curveball has strong downward movement and is considered among the best in this draft. Bradley is a two-sport star who has committed to play quarterback at Oklahoma, but most expect him to stick with baseball and sign with the team that drafts him.