Cody Bradford

Organization Prospect Rankings

• 
  Ranked Texas Rangers #22 prospect in 2023
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Bradford was the Big 12 pitcher of the year in 2018 but had surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome the next season. He also spent a summer with Chatham of the Cape Cod League, where he was teammates with future Blue Jays all-star Alek Manoah and future 1-1 pick Spencer Torkelson. The injury limited Bradford to just three starts in his draft year, but the Rangers still popped him in the sixth round. He reached Double-A in his pro debut and spent all of 2022 at the same level.
  
  Scouting Report: Bradford works with a four-pitch mix led a fastball whose movement helps it play better than its low-90s velocity. The combination of a deceptive delivery and excellent extension makes the fastball extremely difficult to hit at the top of the zone, but he's at his best when he moves it around to all four quadrants. Bradford backs the fastball with a low-80s slider and a high-80s cutter. The latter was introduced because of an inconsistency in Bradford's delivery that allowed hitters to easily tell when the slider was coming. Longer extension meant fastball and shorter extension signaled a slider. The cutter gave Bradford a similar movement profile--albeit with firmer velocity--that he could achieve with the same delivery as his four-seamer. Bradford's best offspeed, however, is his 82-85 mph changeup, which kills spin effectively and can be a useful weapon in any count.
  
  The Future: Bradford was inconsistent in the early portion of the season but figured it out later and got back to the best version of himself. He could fit in the back of a rotation if he carries that momentum into 2023.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Slider: 40. Changeup: 60. Cutter: 50. Control: 55
• 
  Ranked Texas Rangers #23 prospect in 2022
  Track Record: Bradford’s career at Baylor included a Big 12 Conference pitcher of the year award in 2018, a season when he pitched back-to-back complete game shutouts. In 2019, he had surgery to alleviate the symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome, which cost him all but three games of his draft year. Nonetheless, the Rangers took him in the sixth round. His 25 strikeouts at instructional league tied him for the top spot in the organization, and he made his official pro debut in 2021.
  
  Scouting Report: Nothing about Bradford’s profile jumps off the page, but his control was tabbed by internal evaluators as the best in the system. His four-seam fastball sits in the low 90s but plays up a touch thanks to its excellent horizontal break. His low-80s changeup is amplified by the extension and deception in his delivery and was his most frequently thrown offspeed pitch. Bradford rounds out his three-pitch mix with a mid-80s slider that grades as fringe-average.
  
  The Future: Bradford finished 2021 at Double-A Frisco and should begin back there to start 2022. He has the ceiling of a back-end starter but has one of the higher floors among the system’s pitching prospects.
  

Draft Prospects

• Ranked #355 prospect in 2019 draft
  After a nondescript freshman season, Bradford was the Big 12 pitcher of the year in 2018, when he went 7-6, 2.51. He earned a spot with USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team last summer and seemed on pace to be a reliable Day 2 pick thanks to his track record and strike-throwing ability. But Bradford made only three starts in 2019 before he was shut down with thoracic outlet syndrome. Pre-injury, Bradford sat 88-91 mph with a loose arm and an easy delivery that could add a tick more velocity. His 74-80 mph curveball is a sweepy, fringe-average pitch, and his changeup is below average. There's probably not enough stuff for a team to take the risk on Bradford until he shows he's healthy, but he was a potential sixth- to 10th-round pick before the injury so he could still entice a team after the 10th round.

• February, 2023 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Bradford was the Big 12 pitcher of the year in 2018 but had surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome the next season. He also spent a summer with Chatham of the Cape Cod League, where he was teammates with future Blue Jays all-star Alek Manoah and future 1-1 pick Spencer Torkelson. The injury limited Bradford to just three starts in his draft year, but the Rangers still popped him in the sixth round. He reached Double-A in his pro debut and spent all of 2022 at the same level.
  
  Scouting Report: Bradford works with a four-pitch mix led a fastball whose movement helps it play better than its low-90s velocity. The combination of a deceptive delivery and excellent extension makes the fastball extremely difficult to hit at the top of the zone, but he's at his best when he moves it around to all four quadrants. Bradford backs the fastball with a low-80s slider and a high-80s cutter. The latter was introduced because of an inconsistency in Bradford's delivery that allowed hitters to easily tell when the slider was coming. Longer extension meant fastball and shorter extension signaled a slider. The cutter gave Bradford a similar movement profile--albeit with firmer velocity--that he could achieve with the same delivery as his four-seamer. Bradford's best offspeed, however, is his 82-85 mph changeup, which kills spin effectively and can be a useful weapon in any count.
  
  The Future: Bradford was inconsistent in the early portion of the season but figured it out later and got back to the best version of himself. He could fit in the back of a rotation if he carries that momentum into 2023.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Slider: 40. Changeup: 60. Cutter: 50. Control: 55
• December, 2022 Scouting Report
  BA Grade/Risk: 45/High
  
  Track Record: Bradford was the Big 12 pitcher of the year in 2018 but had surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome the next season. He also spent a summer with Chatham of the Cape Cod League, where he was teammates with future Blue Jays all-star Alek Manoah and future 1-1 pick Spencer Torkelson. The injury limited Bradford to just three starts in his draft year, but the Rangers still popped him in the sixth round. He reached Double-A in his pro debut and spent all of 2022 at the same level.
  
  Scouting Report: Bradford works with a four-pitch mix led a fastball whose movement helps it play better than its low-90s velocity. The combination of a deceptive delivery and excellent extension makes the fastball extremely difficult to hit at the top of the zone, but he's at his best when he moves it around to all four quadrants. Bradford backs the fastball with a low-80s slider and a high-80s cutter. The latter was introduced because of an inconsistency in Bradford's delivery that allowed hitters to easily tell when the slider was coming. Longer extension meant fastball and shorter extension signaled a slider. The cutter gave Bradford a similar movement profile--albeit with firmer velocity--that he could achieve with the same delivery as his four-seamer. Bradford's best offspeed, however, is his 82-85 mph changeup, which kills spin effectively and can be a useful weapon in any count.
  
  The Future: Bradford was inconsistent in the early portion of the season but figured it out later and got back to the best version of himself. He could fit in the back of a rotation if he carries that momentum into 2023.
  
  Scouting Grades: Fastball: 55. Slider: 40. Changeup: 60. Cutter: 50. Control: 55
• December, 2021 Scouting Report
  Track Record: Bradford’s career at Baylor included a Big 12 Conference pitcher of the year award in 2018, a season when he pitched back-to-back complete game shutouts. In 2019, he had surgery to alleviate the symptoms of thoracic outlet syndrome, which cost him all but three games of his draft year. Nonetheless, the Rangers took him in the sixth round. His 25 strikeouts at instructional league tied him for the top spot in the organization, and he made his official pro debut in 2021.
  
  Scouting Report: Nothing about Bradford’s profile jumps off the page, but his control was tabbed by internal evaluators as the best in the system. His four-seam fastball sits in the low 90s but plays up a touch thanks to its excellent horizontal break. His low-80s changeup is amplified by the extension and deception in his delivery and was his most frequently thrown offspeed pitch. Bradford rounds out his three-pitch mix with a mid-80s slider that grades as fringe-average.
  
  The Future: Bradford finished 2021 at Double-A Frisco and should begin back there to start 2022. He has the ceiling of a back-end starter but has one of the higher floors among the system’s pitching prospects.
  
• July, 2021 Scouting Report
  The Rangers' sixth-rounder in 2019 out of Baylor missed most of the last two seasons. He was limited to three starts in 2019 because of thoracic outlet syndrome, then lost the 2020 season because of the pandemic. This year, he's made strides thanks to a new slider in his arsenal. The result was 79 strikeouts through his first 57 innings with High-A Hickory.
• December, 2018 Scouting Report
  After a nondescript freshman season, Bradford was the Big 12 pitcher of the year in 2018, when he went 7-6, 2.51. He earned a spot with USA Baseball's Collegiate National Team last summer and seemed on pace to be a reliable Day 2 pick thanks to his track record and strike-throwing ability. But Bradford made only three starts in 2019 before he was shut down with thoracic outlet syndrome. Pre-injury, Bradford sat 88-91 mph with a loose arm and an easy delivery that could add a tick more velocity. His 74-80 mph curveball is a sweepy, fringe-average pitch, and his changeup is below average. There's probably not enough stuff for a team to take the risk on Bradford until he shows he's healthy, but he was a potential sixth- to 10th-round pick before the injury so he could still entice a team after the 10th round.