Taj Bradley

Taj Ali Bradley

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 190 lb.
• High School Redan High School
• Debut April 12, 2023

• Born March 20, 2001 in Los Angeles, CA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Pitcher Taj Bradley was drafted by the Tampa Bay Rays in the 5th round of the 2018 amateur draft, out of a high school in Georgia. His first professional season, with the GCL Rays in 2018, was nothing special, as he went 1-4, 5.09 in 10 games, but he started improving in 2019, when he was 2-5, 3.18 with the Princeton Rays of the Appalachian League.

After sitting out the 2020 season because the minor leagues were shut down by the Coronavirus pandemic, he resumed his career in 2021 by taking a huge step forward, as he combined to go 12-3, 1,83 in 23 games between the Charleston RiverDogs and Bowling Green Hot Rods. He also put up an excellent 123/31 K/W ratio in 103 1/3 innings to establish himself as one of the top pitching prospects in an organization known for developing young pitchers. He was named his league's pitcher of the month on both June and July and was also named an organizational All-Star. In 2022, he was with the Montgomery Biscuits of the Southern League and was selected the league's Pitcher of the Month in May, then was named to the American League squad for the 2022 Futures Game. He was selected to start the game, played at Dodger Stadium on July 16th, and helped by a tremendous throw from C Shea Langeliers, did not surrender a run as Corbin Carroll, who had led off the bottom of the 1st with a double, was thrown out trying to steal third base on the front end of a double steal. He also gave up a walk to Francisco Álvarez, but got Jordan Walker to fly out to center to end the inning. He finished the year at 7-4, 2.57 in 28 games between Montgomery and the AAA Durham Bulls, with 141 strikeouts against 33 walks in 133 1/3 innings.

He started the 2023 season in the minors and while it was widely expected he would be making his big league debut that season, it came sooner than anticipated as he had to make an emergency start for the Rays against the Boston Red Sox on April 12th due to an injury to Zach Eflin. He acquitted himself well, allowing 3 runs in 5 innings while striking out 8 and was credited with the win as the Rays' strong offense gave him excellent run support. The Rays won the game, 9-7, their 12th straight win since the start of the season, tying the all-time franchise record for consecutive wins dating back to their days as the "Devil Rays" in 2004, and bringing them within one of the modern major league record of 13 wins to start a season shared by the 1982 Atlanta Braves and 1987 Milwaukee Brewers. He was excellent in his second start on April 18th, against the Cincinnati Reds, striking out 9 over 5 1/3 scoreless innings in a 10-0 win. He ended up going 5-8, 5.59 in 23 games (21 starts), pitching 104 2/3 innings and striking out 129 batters. He was not used in the postseason as the Rays made an early exit, losing both games of the Wild Card Series to the Texas Rangers.

In 2024 , he missed the first month of the season, not making his first start until May 10th. He pitched the best game of his career thus far on May 26th, when he limited the Kansas City Royals to one hit and no runs in five innings, but he ended up with a no-decision, then he was rocked in his next start, on June 1st, when he allowed 9 runs to the Baltimore Orioles in just 3 1/3 innings. His ERA was back to 5.81 after that disaster and his record was just 1-3, but he started pitching much better after that with a string of ten consecutive starts in which he allowed two runs or fewer. He matched and passed his rookie season total for wins with back-to-back wins on July 20 and July 25 and was named the American League Pitcher of the Month after finishing July with a record of 3-1, 1.45 in five starts, which included a streak of 24 consecutive scoreless innings at one point.

Further Reading

• Adam Berry: "Rays' No. 1 prospect Bradley debuts with mom in stands: 22-year-old righty K's eight, holds Boston to three runs over five innings", mlb.com, April 13, 2023. [1]
• Dawn Klemish: "Top prospect Bradley gets pumped, then gets souvenir: Rays righty secures ball from final out of 7-pitch first -- signed by Justin Turner", mlb.com, February 26, 2023. [2]

Related Sites

• Taj Bradley on mlb.com
• BR Minors page