Former Redan Raider baseball star Taj Bradley made his Major League Baseball debut on April 12 against the Boston Red Sox. Bradley picked up a win in his first start in Tampa. (Photos courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
Former Redan High baseball star Taj Bradley began living his dream on April 12 when he stepped to the mound for the first time as the starting pitcher for the streaking Tampa Bay Rays against the storied Boston Red Sox.
Bradley went five innings, striking out eight while allowing five hits, three runs and walking only one, as the Rays held on to win 9-7 to extend their season opening streak to 12 games.
“I didn’t really have time to think about getting on that mound for the first time,” said Bradley. “They told me the night before in Durham and I had to get packed and to Tampa to start that next day. It was great to be able to help the team continue the win streak.”
The night before Durham had lost and the team expecting the manager to get on to them about the loss got thrown a change up when he started talking about the thrill of being able to tell a player he was going to the “the show.”
“He started describing who was going up and mentioned that the player was drafted in 2018,” Bradley said. “I looked around and realized I was the only one drafted that year. I was kind of shellshocked when he told everyone I was going up.”
Growing up outside of Atlanta Bradley was a Braves fan and dreamed of playing for them one day, but going into his senior year he was not on any college or pro radar despite hitting .441 with 28 RBI, 8 doubles, 2 triples and a homerun as a junior.
He had reluctantly gone 3-2 in 31 2/3 innings on the mound with a 1.55 earned run average as he did not really want to pitch.
“I did not want to pitch at all and we had a few arguments about it,” laughed Bradley. “My senior year I went into a game and pitched about three innings and afterwards my mom came up with cards from scouts.”
Bradley would go on to pitch 41 1/3 innings that season going 5-0 with a 1.02 earned run average with 56 strikeouts while hitting .427 on the season.
Still 17 years old he got the call from the Rays in the fifth round (150th pick) of the Major League Draft. He would not get to play in 2020 as the Minor League season was cancelled due to Covid 19 but put together a 12-3 record in 2021 with a 1.83 ERA splitting time in Class A Charleston and Class A Bowling Green.
In 2022, Bradley was making the move up the ladder becoming recognized as the third best prospect in the Rays’ organization and 44th overall in the Minors as he split time in Double A Montgomery and Triple A Durham.
“Going into the Minors was a big difference for me as a 17-year-old leaving home for the first time,” said Bradley. “It is not like college where you get to hang out with people your age. You must figure things out on your own and learn from the older guys.
Taj Bradley took on his hometown Atlanta Braves on July 8. (Photo courtesy of the Tampa Bay Rays)
The 22-year-old has now made 15 appearances for the Rays this season going 5-6 with four no decisions that includes 95 strikeouts and only 22 walks. He started out 3-0 on the season with 23 strikeouts and just two walks in wins over Boston, Cincinnati and defending World Series champion Houston.
“That was an awesome start for me,” said Bradley.
He credits his success to being able to mix up his four pitches including his four-seam fastball (95-97 mph), changeup, cutter and curve against hitters. It has led to eight or more strikeouts in six of his 15 starts including a high of 11 on the road at Oakland.
Heading into the All-Star break Bradley took the to the mound against his hometown team, the National League East leading Atlanta Braves, in a battle of division leaders.
Bradley would go five innings against the team he dreamed of playing for growing up including four shutout innings in what would be a loss for the Rays.
“I dreamed of playing for the Braves growing up, but getting to pitch against them was even better with my longtime friend Michael Harris playing for them,” said Bradley. “It was good to see him and we had some laughs competing against each other.”
Bradley retired his old friend on a pair of groundouts the two times he faced him in the game won by the Braves.
The former Raider gets his 12th start on Saturday (July 29) at Houston against a tough Astros lineup he held in check in an 8-3 win on April 24.
“It has been unbelievable at times,” said Bradley. “I have to remind myself that it is actually real and I’m here.”