Taj Bradley of the Minnesota Twins has made an impressive start to the season, boasting a 3-0 record and a 1.25 ERA over four starts. His fastball velocity has increased significantly, making his splitter a key factor in his success, contributing to 36% of his strikeouts.
Twins' Taj Bradley's 'lethal weapon' places him in rare category with Dodgers World Series MVP originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
It's hard to have a better start to the season than Taj Bradley's with the Minnesota Twins.
Through four starts, the right-hander is 3-0 with a 1.25 ERA, striking out 29 batters while walking eight. Bradley, a former fifth-round pick of the Tampa Bay Rays, struggled to find consistency with the AL East club and was traded to the Twins last summer.
Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller is buying Bradley's hot start to the year, noting that his average fastball velocity is up from 96.3 mph to 97.7 mph, and his splitter has been nearly unhittable.
"And that amped up four seamer has turned Bradley's splitter into a lethal weapon, responsible for 36 percent of his strikeouts," Miller wrote Monday. "Per FanGraphs, only Yoshinobu Yamamoto's splitter has been worth more runs above average than Bradley's.
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Four starts are a small sample size, but Bradley could be a key piece for the Twins roster that could surprise a lot of people. They took two out of three from the Toronto Blue Jays this past weekend, with Bradley allowing one earned run on five hits in five innings. He struck out seven and walked four.
"While we wouldn't say we expect that to remain the case, that's a big early step in the right direction for what was once a consensus top 50 prospect," Miller added about Bradley's recent stellar performances. "The 25-year-old might be coming into his own in his fourth season."
Taj Bradley has a 3-0 record and a 1.25 ERA through his first four starts with the Minnesota Twins.
Bradley's average fastball velocity has increased from 96.3 mph to 97.7 mph this season.
Bradley's splitter is responsible for 36% of his strikeouts this season.
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