Bradley Makes MLB Debut, Becomes 177th Hillcat to Make Majors
June 24, 2019 - Carolina League (CarL1)
Lynchburg Hillcats News Release
Lynchburg, Va. - Former Lynchburg Hillcats first baseman Bobby Bradley made his Major League debut for the Cleveland Indians on Sunday, June 23, against the Detroit Tigers. He started the game at first base and batted seventh in Cleveland's lineup, going 1-for-3 with an RBI double and a walk. The Tribe cruised to an 8-2 win over Detroit.
The Gulfport, Miss. native was drafted by the Indians in the third round of the 2014 MLB Draft out of Harrison Central High School. The left-handed hitter played in 607 Minor League games prior to his call-up to The Show, belting 138 home runs over five-and-a-half seasons.
Bradley appeared in two games in a Hillcats uniform in 2015 before playing 131 games with Lynchburg in 2016 as the club's everyday first baseman. He became the Carolina League MVP that year, hitting .235 with a league-leading 29 home runs and 102 RBI. The 23-year-old was also a mid-season and post-season All-Star in '16.
Ranked by MLB.com as the Cleveland Indians No. 6 overall prospect, Bradley's Minor League career has been decorated with accolades. In addition to his MVP award with Lynchburg in 2016, he was also named the MVP of the AZL in his first pro season in 2014. He has hit at least 23 home runs in five consecutive years across Cleveland's farm system. The Indians added Bradley to the team's 40-man roster this past November.
This season, Bradley started in Triple-A Columbus, where he led with the Clippers with 24 homers and 55 RBI over 67 games. He was named the International League Player of the Month in May after belting 12 long balls to go along with 28 RBI across 25 contests. Bradley posted an OPS of 1.113 last month en route to the honor.
Bradley is the 177th Hillcats player to make his Major League debut since 1995 and is the tenth to make his debut for the Indians since Cleveland took over the Lynchburg affiliation in 2015. Bradley joins Aaron Civale (2019), Zach Plesac (2019), Eric Haase (2018), Shane Bieber (2018), Bradley Zimmer (2017), Greg Allen (2017), Francisco Mejia (2017), Perci Garner (2016) and Adam Plutko (2016) to play for the Indians at the big league level.
Lynchburg begins a seven-game homestand on Monday starting with the Frederick Keys for a three-game set. Homestand highlights include Kids-Eat-Free Tuesday, Winning Wednesday, Thirsty Thursday, fireworks shows on Friday and Saturday, and Grateful Dead Night featuring a pre-game cover band performance on Friday, June 28.
The Lynchburg Hillcats are the Advanced-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians. The Hillcats are eight-time Carolina League Champions, having most recently won the Mills Cup Championship in 2017. The Hillcats play their home games at City Stadium, which has been home to Minor League Baseball in Lynchburg since 1963. Visit the Hillcats online at Lynchburg-hillcats.com, and follow the Hillcats on Twitter (@LynHillcats), Instagram (@LynHillcats) and Facebook (Lynchburg Hillcats). For more information about the Lynchburg Hillcats, please contact Max Gun at mgun@lynchburg-hillcats.com.
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