Trevor Bradley Becomes Fourth Pitcher to Re-Sign With Washington for 2018
WASHINGTON, Pa. - Following the re-signing of RHP Chase Cunningham and LHP's Jake Eaton and Frank Trimarco, the Wild Things have announced the extension of RHP Trevor Bradley, who becomes the fourth pitcher from 2017 to re-sign with the team for 2018. Bradley, who turned 25 yesterday, was signed during the season in 2017 and made 21 appearances, three of which were starts, for Washington after signing.
The Lexington, South Carolina, native signed with the Wild Things fresh off finishing up his collegiate career at Georgia Gwinett College, where in 2016, he was 6-0 with 52 strikeouts, 10 walks and a 1.91 earned run average. He also set the single-game strikeout record at GGC with 12 that season before almost doubling his inning total in 2017. Bradley was 8-4 in 83 innings his senior year with a 3.14 ERA.
Once arriving in Washington, Bradley made an almost immediate impact, showing versatility to start as well as come out of the bullpen, and was a bit more effective in the latter role. In total, Bradley was 2-3 with a 3.60 ERA in 40 innings. He nailed down a save, and allowed just 16 earned runs in his innings, with 35 strikeouts and 21 walks.
"As a two-way player in college, Trevor brought a lot of natural competitiveness to our pitching staff," said Wild Things' general manager Steven Zavacky. "He showed spurts of dominance and made quality strides in his first season of professional baseball. We’ve asked Trevor to prepare for a bigger role out of our bullpen in 2018. It is important his development stays on schedule and he grows into a stabilizing force to bridge innings."
Familiarity was a big help for Bradley when he got to Washington. He had played at Georgia Gwinett for a season with Wild Things' right-hander Davis Adkins, as well as had a common ground with former Wild Things' catcher John Fidanza, who finished up school at GGC after Bradley got there. He said it helped as he adjusted to his first season in professional baseball.
"I had so many guys last year that really helped me get through the season, and having a few players on the team that I played with in past years really helped me out," said Bradley, citing playing with Fidanza, Adkins and former Wild Things' RHP Jacob Condra-Bogan. "The competition was a lot tougher than I thought it was going to be."
Even with that in mind, Bradley said he is excited to make progress in 2018, and looks for improvement to be more an impact on a potential 2018 playoff run.
"I'm very excited for this coming season. We played really well last year as a team. It's an exciting team and I'm looking forward to playing with these guys for a second season," said Bradley. "I'm looking to improve my game this season and I want to perform at a really high level so I can make an impact on this team."
As for team expectations, Bradley acknowledged he and the team will want to win a Frontier League title, but he has some personal goals as well.
"[I want to be] someone my coach and teammates want in the game and make the all-star team."
He added, "I think we have the best front office and the best coach in the Frontier League for sure. We wouldn't have went as far as we did without them and the moves they mad last year."
Bradley, in total, is the fifth player to re-up his deal with the Wild Things and join the 2018 roster. He, as well as the other four (Cunningham, Eaton, Trimarco and catcher Kyle Pollock) will be joined by a sixth Friday, November 10.
