2025 Fantasy Baseball: Taj Bradley Profile, Preview, Predictions
Taj Bradley fits the breakout profile for a starting pitching in 2025. Home runs have been a problem so far in his major leaguue career, something he must clean up to reach ace status in the fantasy market.
Taj Bradley's 2Ks in the 7th. pic.twitter.com/q4OeWNhJMx
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 20, 2024
SP – Taj Bradley, TB (ADP – 191.4)
2023 was expected to be a progression season for Bradley. Unfortunately, his arm was a disaster at AAA (6.45 ERA) due to poor command (4.8 walks per nine) and home runs (nine over 37.2 innings). Tampa called him up on April 12th, where Bradley teased over three appearances (3-0 with six runs, 12 hits, two walks, and 23 strikeouts). The Rays sent him back to AAA, and his arm was worthless over the remainder of the year (6.15 ERA, 1.508 WHIP, and 29 home runs over 120 innings with 135 strikeouts) between the minors and majors.
Bradley began 2024 on the injured list with a pectoral issue. After two elite starts at AAA (one run and three baserunners over 11.0 innings with 15 strikeouts), he made his major league debut on May 10th. The Red Sox and Orioles drilled him for 14 runs, 18 baserunners, and six home runs over 10.1 innings in two of his first five appearances, but Bradley allowed two runs or fewer in his 12 other games over his first 14 starts (9-5 with a 1.01 ERA, 0.901 WHIP, and 87 strikeouts over 71.0 innings). Unfortunately, his arm ran off the tracks over his next eight contests (8.27 ERA, 1.621 WHIP, and 12 home runs over 41.1 innings with 40 strikeouts). Bradley regained his rhythm over his final three appearances (three runs, 20 baserunners, and 17 strikeouts over 15.1 innings).
His average fastball (96.3) had plus velocity. He doubled the usage of his split-finger fastball (.209 BAA) at the expense of his curveball (.241 BAA). Batters handled his four-seamer (.268 BAA) but failed to make hard contact against his cutter (.198 BAA).
Fantasy Outlook: For 15 starts in 2024, Bradley delivered foundation ace stats. His next step is cleaning up his disaster outings and improving his success against left-handed batters (.252 BAA). He has the fastball to control the top of the strike zone and change a batter's eye with his developing elite split-finger pitch. On the verge of ace status with slightly better command and fewer mistakes leaving the park. Next step: a sub 3.25 ERA and 200+ strikeouts if given 30 starts. Don’t sleep at the wheel and try to finesse him.
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With 20+ years of experience in the high-stakes fantasy market, I aim to research and compete at the highest level in baseball and football each season. I've contributed as a writer/analyst for Sports Draft Daily, ScoutPro, Scout Fantasy, Fulltime Fantasy, FFToolbox, and Sports Illustrated Fantasy. I'm honored to be in the National Fantasy Baseball Championship Hall of Fame. My drafting philosophy is risk-averse yet open to betting on potential game-changers. I approach player selection with a neutral perspective, acknowledging that fantasy sports are inherently unpredictable due to injuries, performance dips, and managerial decisions. My work focuses on these main areas: - Season-long fantasy baseball and football - BestBall Baseball and Football Events - Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS): DraftKings, FanDuel, and Underdog - Long Shot Player Prop Parlays for NFL I participate in various leagues and contests, including NFBC, NFFC, RTSports, FFPC, DraftKings, Underdog Fantasy, FanDuel, and FFWC, with the goal of leveraging my extensive experience and research for success in each game format. A fantasy follower can expect in-depth profiles of NFL and MLB players, along with season-long and weekly projections for each fantasy football season. In addition, I have many strategy articles to help develop fantasy players' learning curves.