The Indians have promoted top prospect Bobby Bradley from Triple-A Columbus, per an official announcement. Bradley will make his MLB debut playing first base and batting seventh when the Indians take on the Tigers for Sunday’s series finale at 1:10 PM EDT.
According to MLB Pipeline, the 23-year-old infielder currently ranks sixth-best among the organization’s prospect pool. Bradley was selected in the third round of the 2014 amateur draft and has impressed at nearly every minor league level since then. While he profiles as an average runner and defender, the Indians have no doubts about his offense: he’ll enter the big leagues with a .292/.359/.638 batting line, 24 home runs, 55 RBI, and a .997 OPS through 284 plate appearances in Triple-A this year.
In a corresponding move, lefty reliever Josh Smith has been optioned to Triple-A to make room for Bradley on the roster. Smith, 29, has yo-yoed between the two levels quite frequently over the last month, allowing seven hits, three runs, five walks, and striking out nine of 28 batters over his first five innings in the majors.
