Cleveland Indians: Potential replacements at first base for Carlos Santana

Bobby Bradley

Currently the No. 13 prospect in the Cleveland Indians’ organization, Bobby Bradley has appeared to be the player in waiting at the first base position. He ripped apart pitchers at the Triple-A level during the 2019 season before having a brief stint in Cleveland before the season ended. Despite that, he didn’t play in any games for the Indians during the 2020 season.

Bradley played in 15 games for the Tribe during the 2020 season, a very small sample size. In those 15 games he slashed just .178/.245/.356, but aside from his OBP, those aren’t too far off from what Carlos Santana did in 2020. He also knocked five doubles and a home run. However, where he thrived was in Triple-A that season.

Playing 107 games for the Columbus Clippers in 2019, Bradley crushed 33 home runs with the addition of 23 doubles, all while slashing .264/.344/.567. If those are the numbers that become the norm for Bradley, then he should very easily settle in at the major league level.

The concern could be his fielding. While with the Indians in 2019 he committed two errors over 37 innings at first base for a .951 fielding percentage. However, that number was higher over a more full season with Columbus at .988. Regardless, he seems like the easiest choice to take over at first, at least for the time being.