Baltimore Orioles Elite Prospect Shares What Makes Him So Good On Basepaths

Since he's joined the Baltimore Orioles organization, their star prospect has been an elite runner on the basepaths, but that's been the case long before his professional days.

Jul 18, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles first round draft pick Enrique Bradfield Jr. takes batting practice prior to the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. / Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles are currently trying to chase down the New York Yankees for the top spot in the AL East division.

After once sitting in first place, a couple losses here and there while their rivals kept winning games put them in the secondary position they're currently in.

There's still plenty of time left for the Orioles to accomplish something they haven't done since the 1970s by winning back-to-back division crowns, but they'll need to continue playing the elite baseball they have since being swept for the first time since Adley Rutschman was called up.

What they decide to do around the deadline will be interesting.

They have tons of top prospects in their loaded farm system that could land them virtually any player who is made available, but general manager Mike Elias doesn't like to mortgage his future for short-term success, something that he learned and displayed while with the Houston Astros.

One player who might be seen as one of their best trade chips is 22-year-old Enrique Bradfield Jr.

The No. 5 prospect in their pipeline is in his first full year of professional baseball after spending 25 games in 2023 with their rookie, Single-A, and High Single-A affiliates.

Bradfield was immediately put with their High Single-A team this year and has completely flourished, slashing .270/.346/.383 with 10 extra-base hits and six RBI.

For him to make the MLB, it likely will be because of his speed.

The 80-grade speedster has been an elite base stealer at the minor league ranks already, grabbing 48 bags while only getting thrown out six times. In 31 games this season, he's stolen a base 23 times compared to getting caught four times.

This is something that's been going on long before his professional days, though.

In college, at Vanderbilt, he went 130-for-143 on stolen-base attempts in his career, including a perfect 46-for-46 in 2022.

Speed is what prompted Baltimore to take him with the 17th overall pick in 2023, but stealing bases is more than just about being fast, especially when facing higher levels of competition.

He explained his mindset to Jake Rill of MLB.com.

"I just pay attention to smaller details, and that's going back to the time I spent at Vanderbilt. When I showed up there, I was just a guy with speed, but I didn't really know how to use it. Being able to work around the staff and learn from them, that gave me all the confidence I needed to be able to look at minor details, come up with a game plan, do research and then go into the game and just be free and play."

That's a great sign for the Orioles as he continues to improve and get to the point where he can be a fast riser through their pipeline.

"The end goal is the Major Leagues, so in order for that to happen, I would have to jump some levels. I'm just trying to take it day by day, get better by 1 percent. I can't build this thing overnight. I'm going to need these experiences so I can fall back on them when I'm at higher levels," Bradfield added.

It will be interesting to see what Baltimore decides to do at the deadline, especially when factoring in that it looks like they have another burgeoning star on their hands.