Opposing scout assigning higher grade to Bradfield, young pitchers also earning praise

SARASOTA, Fla. – In describing Enrique Bradfield Jr. following the Spring Breakout game in Sarasota, a scout from outside the organization pretty much nailed it in four words.

“He’s a total disruptor.”

This is meant in a good way, of course. Not the kind who gets detention after school.

Bradfield provided an example of his disruptive nature in the first inning against the Yankees’ prospects. He slaps a two-strike single into left field, goes first to third with ease on an errant pickoff throw and bolts home on a wild pitch. Pitchers become distracted. The defense tightens from the pressure that he applies.

The scout said he’s done a 180 on Bradfield since a couple of years ago. He uses Kenny Lofton as a comp for the 2023 first-round draft pick. The questions about whether Bradfield will hit are growing silent.

“My needle is going in a different direction,” the scout said. “I used to think he was a fourth outfielder.”

Not anymore.

The 80-grade speed can’t be taught, and the scout said it allows Bradfield to steal a base without getting a big jump, and with teams knowing that he’s running on a pitch. They just can’t stop him. It’s a game-changing tool.

Bradfield played center yesterday against the Red Sox in Fort Myers and reached three times on a bases-loaded walk, hit-by-pitch and run-scoring single. He was robbed of a hit earlier when second baseman Kristian Campbell snared his line drive.

The Spring Breakout starting outfield had Bradfield in left, 2024 first-rounder Vance Honeycutt in center and Jud Fabian in right.

“I wish Fabian would hit more,” the scout said, “because he can really play the outfield.”

The Orioles don’t invest much in pitching in the earlier rounds of the draft but they aim at big arms with big strikeout totals – and some big ERAs and walk totals – and trust the program that they’ve implemented. The system ranked first in strikeouts last year.

“We’ve been extremely impressed with our pitching department,” said director of player development Anthony Villa. “They’re incredibly thorough, the work ethic, for all of our pitching directors, coordinators, coaches. It is insane, really. Those guys bust their butts to find out the best information and deliver it effectively to the players, and it’s a really impressive department and it’s nice to see the fruits of their labor going noticed.”

Nestor German posted ERAs of 6.25, 7.02 and 5.97 and WHIPS of 1.576, 1.803 and 1.430 in three seasons at Seattle University. He struck out 5.2, 5.5 and 8.5 batters per nine innings. The Orioles selected him in the 11^th round in 2023 and he’s the No. 11 prospect in the system after posting a combined 1.59 ERA and 0.937 WHIP with 11 strikeouts per nine innings in 21 games (12 starts) between Single-A Delmarva and High-A Aberdeen.

German got the ball Saturday in the sixth inning and blanked the Yankees’ prospects with one hit allowed and a strikeout.

Zach Fruit has come over from the minor league side and struck out nine batters in six innings against the Yankees and Red Sox. His fastball was clocked at 100.3 mph in Tampa. The Orioles drafted him in the ninth round in 2023 out of Troy, where he posted a 6.46 ERA and 1.636 WHIP in 22 games in his final season but also struck out 92 batters in 69 2/3 innings. He had a 3.03 ERA last summer in 25 games with Aberdeen and struck out 113 in 107 innings.

The Orioles pushed for Fruit to introduce a cutter to his arsenal and he used it effectively yesterday after experimenting in spring training. The changeup also is new, and the Orioles have refined his slider.

"I had it back in college but it wasn't at the level that it is now," he said.

"Adding these pitches is a reason for a lot of the success that's coming along. ... Just knowing how to use these pitches and get guys out early in the count and induce soft contact is kind of like the big thing. The cutter was a big addition because we needed something to take off the slider. The two-seam was an addition because we needed to get guys weak contact early in counts and hopefully late in counts to induce that double play. Just learning how to use these pitches and how to attack hitters is part of the development phase for me right now."

Scouts and personnel in the pitching department must be able to observe projectability and grab “these moldable pieces of clay,” Villa said, “and continue to transform them once they get into our system.”

The rival scout mentioned German’s outing and also said he really likes Patrick Reilly, the No. 10 prospect in the system per MLB Pipeline who came to the Orioles in a deadline trade that sent outfielder Billy Cook to the Pirates. Reilly was throwing in the high 90s Saturday night while keeping the Yankees’ prospects scoreless and hitless for two innings.

His exclusion from the camp invitees was a little bit of a surprise, but there’s got to be a cutoff.

Levi Wells, who tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings, was described by the scout as “interesting.” Wells first got noticed with his two scoreless innings and three strikeouts in Bradenton, where he topped out at 100.1 mph.

Luis De León, the No. 14 prospect who retired the side in order in the fifth, earned high praise for his “nice and loose” arm. The scout also observed what he believed to be a new, lower arm slot for No. 17 prospect Cameron Weston, who earned the win after retiring the side in order in the ninth.