Davis Bradshaw, Future Miami Marlins Leadoff Hitter

Davis Bradshaw was the 11th round pick of the Miami Marlins in 2018. The McLaurin, MS native was chosen out of Meridian Community College.

Throughout the 2018/2019 offseason, Marlin Maniac will devote one article each for every player who appeared in the system for the 2018 season. Every. Single. Player. Today’s is the first of 286. I’d better get started.

Born on April 25th, 1998, Davis Bradshaw is not yet 21-years-old. A 6’3″, 175 lb. left-fielder by trade, he also spent time in center and right field in the Miami Marlins system. 2018 wasn’t the first time Bradshaw was selected. He was also chosen in 2017 by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 35th round. You can follow Bradshaw on Twitter @Davis6bradshaw.

You wouldn’t necessarily expect an impact player with the 327th overall selection, but Bradshaw would not be an unprecedented exception if he gets to the majors. Rod Beck (1986, Oakland Athletics, 11.4 career WAR), Jeff Brantley (1984, Montreal Expos, 11.3), Mickey Hatcher (1974, Houston Astros, 2.9), Christian Colon (2007, San Diego Padres, 1.8), and Chris O’Grady (2012, Los Angeles Angels, 0.0) are amongst the nine then-future major leaguers selected at the 327th overall position.

Expectation

Not basing my opinion on any external prospect list or scouting report, I can say that Bradshaw’s floor is likely double-A all-star, with a ceiling of everyday major league leadoff hitter and center fielder. After excelling at both the Gulf Coast League level with the GCL Marlins and in the New York-Penn League with the Batavia Muckdogs, he should start next season with the Clinton LumberKings in the single-A Midwest League. Prospects are rising very quickly within the Miami Marlins system, and it wouldn’t be completely unreasonable to say that Bradshaw’s earliest possible look at the major league level would be in September, 2020. A more conventional timetable would see him competing for an opening day roster spot in 2022.

Scouting Report

According to Mike Christensen at allmississippibaseball.net:

"The left-handed hitting Bradshaw batted a crazy .756 as a senior at McLaurin High in 2017 and followed that with a .442 season at MCC."

Bradshaw’s best tool is his plus-plus speed. He’s also proving to be pretty handy with the splinter.

Turning Professional

Bradshaw started his professional career after signing with the Miami Marlins for a $125,000 bonus, above slot for an 11th round pick. He began with the GCL Marlins, and hit collected just one hit in his first 14 at bats over five games. In the 22 games after that for GCL, he slashed .430/.494/.544, with 15 stolen bases in 16 tries. Overall, he scored 18 runs and struck out 13 times versus 10 walks. From July 10th through July 29th, he hit .486, and had multi-hit games in 13 of his last 22 contests with the rookie team.

More from Marlins Prospects

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• What’s wrong with Kahlil Watson?
• Miami Marlins: Farm System rankings part 2
• Miami Marlins: Farm System rankings part 1

On August 16th, the Miami Marlins front office saw fit to promote Bradshaw to the short-season low-A level Muckdogs, and who could blame them? Bradshaw continued to rake in 19 games for Batavia, slashing .354/.418/.427 with five stolen bases and 19 RBI. He had seven multi-hit games for the slightly higher echelon club, including on August 19th. He was five-for-five that day, in a 4-2 victory over the Auburn Doubledays.

Defensively, Bradshaw made three errors in 296 innings between the two levels, racking up a .952 fielding percentage mostly in left field.

Bradshaw seems to be excited for the future, and frankly, so are we. Look for Davis to appear next with the Clinton LumberKings, in the single-A Midwest League in early April.

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