Bobby Bradley is our No. 3 Cleveland Indians prospect. Who should be No. 4?

Everyone loves a #RightHandedPowerBat, but if you can hit the ball with authority, you’re going to have some success regardless of which side of the plate you’re on. And despite being a left handed hitter, Bobby Bradley can certainly mash.

With a commanding 50% of the vote last week, Bradley rounds out the top three Cleveland Indians 2018 prospects behind Francisco Mejia and Triston McKenzie.

The stocky 6’1”, 225 lb first baseman was drafted in the third round by the Tribe in 2014 and he has quickly moved through the farm system, playing a full season in 2017 in Akron. He slashed a solid .251/.331/.465 for the RubberDucks (good for a wRC+ of 116). With many power hitters, they can sometimes fall into the “Three True Outcome” territory, and we saw Bradley do that in 2017. His walk rate (10.3%) and strikeout rate (22.9%) were both down from the year prior in A+ ball, but his slugging stayed roughly the same despite hitting only 23 home runs.

One thing to note for Bobby is his ground ball tendency. After hitting ground balls roughly 35% of the time in both 2015 and 2016, that percentage shot up to 44.7% in 2017. Conversely, if he hits a fly ball, it’s going out of the park 19% of the time. While it’s a far cry from his 26.5% HR/FB rate from his time in Single-A, it’s still incredible, and he did it after transitioning into Double-A, often considered the hardest transition for young players.

Bradley will be joining the 2018 major league spring training squad as a non-roster invite, so he’ll have an opportunity to play with some major league talent as he continues his development. At the age of 21 (and, more importantly, with the signing of Yonder Alonso to replace the recently departed Carlos Santana), I wouldn’t expect Bradley to make it to Cleveland in 2018 unless near the end of the season in September.

WHO SHOULD BE THE NO. 4 PROSPECT FOR 2018?

Greg Allen, CF (Age 24)

2017 (AA) 303 PA, .264/.344/.357, 2 HR, 21 SB, 7.3 BB%, 18.2 K%, 96 wRC+
2017 (MLB) 39 PA, .229/.282/.343, 1 HR, 1 SB, 5.1 BB%, 20.5 K%, 63 wRC+

Missed half of 2017 with a broken hamate bone, but was able to impact the Indians during September call-ups with great defense and baserunning.

Willi Castro, SS (Age 20)

2017 (A+): 510 PA, .290/.337/.424, 11 HR, 19 SB, 5.5 BB%, 17.6 K%, 115 wRC+

One of the younger players at his level each season. Hit more home runs last year (11) than his first three professional seasons (10).

Yu-Cheng Chang, SS (Age 22)

2017 (AA): 508 PA, .220/.312/.461, 24 HR, 11 SB, 10.2 BB%, 26.4 K%, 110 wRC+

Displayed a significant power surge in 2017 in his Double-A debut, but at the cost of increased strikeouts and a major drop in batting average.

Nolan Jones, 3B (Age 19)

2017 (A-): 265 PA, .317/.430/.482, 4 HR, 1 SB, 16.2 BB%, 22.6 K%

Took a leap in his Low-A debut showcasing improved power, an elite eye at the plate and reduced strikeout percentage. Defense at third base needs work.

Shane Bieber, RHP (Age 22)

2017 (A): 5 GS, 29.0 IP, 25.6 K%, 0.8 BB%, 3.10 ERA, 1.91 FIP
2017 (A+): 14 GS, 90.0 IP, 22.9 K%, 1.6% BB, 3.10 ERA, 2.50 FIP
2017 (AA): 9 GS, 54.1 IP, 22.4 K%, 2.3% BB, 2.32 ERA, 2.18 FIP

Continues to have immaculate control at every level of the minor league system while maintaining an above average strikeout rate.