Cody Bradford
Texas Rangers – No. 61
Pitcher
Born: (1998-02-22) February 22, 1998 (age 25)
Aledo, Texas, U.S.
Bats: Left
Throws: Left
MLB debut
May 15, 2023, for the Texas Rangers
MLB statistics
(through 2023 season)
Win–loss record4–3
Earned run average5.30
Strikeouts51
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Cody Daniel Bradford (born February 22, 1998) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2023.

Amateur career

Bradford attended Aledo High School in Aledo, Texas.[1] He produced a 0.64 ERA with 87 strikeouts over 66 innings during his senior season of 2016.[1] Undrafted out of high school, Bradford attended Baylor University to play college baseball for the Bears. Bradford appeared in 15 games for Baylor in his freshman season of 2017; posting a 5–5 record with a 5.52 ERA and 43 strikeouts over 73+1⁄3 innings.[1] He posted a 7–6 record with a 2.51 ERA and 87 strikeouts over 96+2⁄3 innings in his sophomore season of 2018.[2] Bradford appeared in two games for the Chatham Anglers of the Cape Cod League in 2018, posting a 2.25 ERA over 8 innings.[3][4] Bradford was named to the 2018 USA Baseball Collegiate National Team; posting a 1–0 record with a 0.00 ERA and 5 strikeouts over 5 innings.[5][6] Bradford with named the 2018 Big 12 Conference Baseball Pitcher of the Year.[7][8] Bradford appeared in 3 games for Baylor in 2019, before being shut down due to injury.[9] He underwent surgery for Thoracic outlet syndrome on March 27 and missed the rest of the 2019 season.[10]

Professional career

Bradford was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 6th round of the 2019 MLB draft.[11] He signed with Texas for a $700,000 signing bonus, which was $418,000 over slot value.[12] He did not play in 2020 due to the cancellation of the Minor League Baseball season because of the COVID-19 pandemic.[13] Bradford was assigned to the Hickory Crawdads of the High-A East to open the 2021 season.[14] With them, he posted a 4–4 record with a 4.23 ERA and 87 strikeouts over 67+2⁄3 innings.[15] He was promoted to the Frisco RoughRiders of the Double-A Central in August.[16] In 7 games for Frisco, he went 2–0 with a 3.89 ERA and 41 strikeouts over 34+2⁄3 innings.[17] Bradford returned to Frisco for the 2022 season, going 10–7 with a 5.01 ERA and 124 strikeouts over 118+2⁄3 innings.[18]

Bradford received a non-roster invitation to major league spring training in 2023.[19] He opened the 2023 season with the Round Rock Express of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League. Bradford was named the PCL pitcher of the month for April after going 5–0 with a 0.64 ERA in 5 starts.[20] On May 15, 2023, the Rangers selected Bradford’s contract and promoted him to the major leagues for the first time to start that day against the Atlanta Braves.[21] In his MLB debut, Bradford allowed 6 runs over 5 innings.[22] After the season, he won the PCL Pitcher of the Year Award.[23]

Personal life

Bradford was the valedictorian of the 2016 Aledo High School class.[1] Bradford graduated from Baylor University in 2019 with a degree in supply chain management.[11] He married his wife, Madi, in December 2019.[13]

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Cody Bradford Biography". Baylor Bears. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  2. ^ Ramirez, DJ (February 21, 2019). "Cody Bradford leading Baylor baseball on and off the field". The Baylor Lariat. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  3. ^ "Cody Bradford - Profile". pointstreak.com. Retrieved July 16, 2022.
  4. ^ "Cody Bradford College, Amateur & Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  5. ^ "Bradford Selected to USA Baseball National Team". USA Baseball. June 15, 2018. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  6. ^ "Cody Bradford Stats". USA Baseball. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  7. ^ Cherry, Brice (May 22, 2018). "Baylor's Bradford named Big 12 Pitcher of Year". Waco Tribune-Herald. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  8. ^ "Baseball's Bradford Earns Big 12 Pitcher of the Year Award". Baylor University Athletics. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  9. ^ Roberts, Matt (March 7, 2019). "Baylor's Cody Bradford Out for the Season". KWKT - FOX 44. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  10. ^ Newberg, Jamey (June 6, 2019). "On a night when the Rangers planned to watch other players, left-hander Cody Bradford graded high". The Athletic. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Bradford, Hill Taken on Day Two of the 2019 MLB Draft". Baylor University Athletics. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  12. ^ "Former Baylor baseball pitcher Cody Bradford signs with Texas Rangers". kcentv.com. July 5, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  13. ^ a b Cherry, Brice (April 23, 2020). "For former Baylor pitcher Bradford, marriage (and comebacks) are bliss". Waco Tribune-Herald. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  14. ^ Salinas, Ashley (July 12, 2021). "Crawdads Corner: Pitcher represented Hickory in Futures Game as part of All-Star festivities". Hickory Daily Record. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  15. ^ "Wednesday's top prospect performers". MLB.com. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  16. ^ Staff, B. A. "Hot Sheet: Baseball's 20 Hottest Prospects From The Past Week (7/27/21)". Baseball America. Retrieved August 21, 2021.
  17. ^ Grant, Evan (March 4, 2022). "Rangers' top prospects: Cody Bradford should be a lock for Double-A Frisco's starting rotation". The Dallas Morning News. Retrieved March 4, 2022.
  18. ^ "Rangers Release RoughRiders 2022 Break Camp Roster". MiLB.com. March 31, 2022. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
  19. ^ Postins, Matthew (January 28, 2023). "Rangers Invite Top Prospects to Spring Training". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved February 1, 2023.
  20. ^ "Texas Rangers prospect Cody Bradford wins PCL Pitcher of the Month award". The Dallas Morning News. May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 12, 2023.
  21. ^ "Rangers' Cody Bradford: Starting Sunday vs. ATL". cbssports.com. Retrieved May 15, 2023.
  22. ^ Landry, Kennedi (May 16, 2023). "Bradford's debut for hometown team a learning experience". MLB.com. Retrieved May 19, 2023.
  23. ^ Terranova, Rob (October 4, 2023). "The 2023 Triple-A All-Stars and Award Winners". Minor League Baseball. Archived from the original on October 4, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.

External links

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Texas Rangers 2023 World Series champions
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