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After being usurped by Yandy Diaz for the #4 spot, Bobby Bradley narrowly beats out Greg Allen to round out the top 5 of the LGT prospect ranking for 2017.
Bradley was the third round pick for the Cleveland Indians in 2014, and he's been destroying baseballs left and right in the Cleveland farm system since entering the AZL in 2014. After being promoted to Lake County in 2015, he hit 27 home runs and slugged .518 before making the jump to Lynchburg in 2016 and mashing 29 home runs and slugging .466.
At just 20 years old, Bobby is young for the high-A league, but he has held his own after his first full season with the Hillcats. In 2016, he surpassed the 100 RBI mark with 102, which led the entire Carolina league (teammate Anthony Santander came in 3rd with 95).
Bradley saw his average dip a bit in 2016, falling to .235 over the course of 131 games. His slash line for the season ended at .235/.344/.466; while he didn't hit for average, he was able to get on base just fine via the walk when he wasn't hitting the ball out of the atmosphere.
The biggest issue that Bradley is going to face as he continues through the system is controlling his strikeouts. While he led the league in RBIs, he was also second in the league in strikeouts with a staggering 170. Built like a prototypical Three-True-Outcome hitter, Bradley will either walk, strikeout, or hit a home run more often than not. Even still, his high strikeout rate could prove to be an issue as he faces higher caliber pitching. Next season may be the biggest test for Bradley if he makes the jump to AA.
WHO SHOULD BE THE NO. 6 PROSPECT FOR 2017?
Brady Aiken, LHP (Age 20)
2016 (R): 24.0 IP, 7.13 ERA, 3.37 FIP, 29.4 K%, 10.9 BB%
2016 (A-): 22.1 IP, 4.43 ERA, 4.26 FIP, 22.5 K%, 8.2 BB%
Stats do not mean much right now as he's working way back from 2015 Tommy John surgery. Expected to be full-strength for 2017, but no reason to rush. Very high ceiling.
Greg Allen, OF (Age 24)
2016 (A+): 432 PA, 4 HR, 38 SB, .298/.424/.402, 139 wRC+
2016 (AA): 174 PA, 3 HR, 7 SB, .290/.399/.441, 138 wRC+
Former sixth-round pick who could debut in late 2017. Led all of minor league baseball in runs in 2016 and won the minor league gold glove for center field.
Will Benson, OF (Age 18)
2016 (R): 184 PA, 6 HR, 10 SB, .209/.321/.424, 112 wRC+
The 2016 first round pick flashed solid power, speed and drew plenty of walks in his professional debut, although needs work on his strikeouts and contact rate.
Nolan Jones, 3B (Age 18)
2016 (R): 134 PA, 0 HR, 3 SB, .257/.388/.339, 118 wRC+
2016 second round pick, Jones walked at almost a 20% clip in 2016, his first season in rookie ball. Has the potential to be a solid all around player both at the plate and in the field.
Yu-Cheng Chang, SS (Age 21)
2016 (A+): 477 PA, 13 HR, 11 SB, .259/.332/.463, 117 wRC+
Had a nice rebound year in 2016 after suffering some injuries in 2015. Was one of the youngest players invited to the Arizona Fall League, where he batted .303.