Joe Bradshaw
2042 Stats (Rank BBA Catchers) - .317 BA (3rd) / 1.042 OPS (1st) / 12 HRs (2nd) / 36 RBI (2nd) / 43 Runs (1st - 6th Overall) / 2.1 WAR (1st - 7.0 Projected)
Although Twin Cities fans and the BBA are just starting to learn about 21 year old Joe Bradshaw, the Front Office has been waiting for a few years to see him finally emerge after he was drafted in the 1st Round (19th Over-all) in 2039.
And the results so far in 2042 have been far better than expected.
The original plan at catcher was to have Joe start against Right Handed Starters and have the better defensive catcher, Parker Davenport start against Lefties.
While that is still pretty much the current plan, Joe's bat has been so hot, the team has been reluctant to take his bat out of the lineup. So Bradshaw has been hitting DH against Lefties... mainly due to DH Jose Calderon's ineptness versus Left handed pitching.
Whatever the system, the young line up (7 of 9 starters are age 22 or younger) has been hitting on all cylinders and doing their best to make up for the dubious starting pitching rotation (5.58 ERA - FL Rank 13th). It didn't take long to move Bradshaw to the middle of the line up to take advantage of his blistering start. His 13 home runs and 38 RBI's lead the River Monster's potent line up.
His battery mate, Parker, has been the only River Monster to struggle with the bat this season. However, there's signs he's turning things around. Davenport has also recently showed signs of improving both his contact and power. Behind the plate, it seems that Davenport handles the pitching staff better, with a CERA almost a full point lower than Bradshaw.
With the current batting lineup rotation, the team is trying to utilize both catcher's strengths. Even bringing Davenport in games late with leads to give the closers the best chance of finishing out the game.
The strategy seems to be working with Twin Cities going 6-3 in one run games and 5-2 in extra inning games. Late inning specialists, Juan Cerda and Dan Woodside have been fantastic in their stopper roles. with a combined 14 saves between them.
The trick has been keeping games close through the 7th inning... And so far in 2042, Joe Bradshaw has been big part of the River Monsters doing just that...