Arizona Diamondbacks’ Archie Bradley prepared for first Major League start: ‘I feel like now is the right time’
Apr 10, 2015, 9:25 PM | Updated: 9:26 pm
Saturday night, it will finally happen.
Archie Bradley, one of the Arizona Diamondbacks’ most prized prospects, will make his first big league start when the Diamondbacks host the Los Angeles Dodgers at Chase Field.
It will be a big moment for the 22-year-old who was the No. 7 pick in the 2011 MLB First-Year Player Draft out of high school, but one he is mentally ready for.
“I think the biggest thing for me so far is I always pictured getting called up from, say, Double-A or Triple-A and getting on a flight and getting in and pitching the next day,” Bradley told Bickley and Marotta on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Friday. “But I think since I’ve had, really, a week to be here and be in the clubhouse and kind of get my routine set, I feel a lot more comfortable in the clubhouse and preparing, watching a little video. Things like that that I normally wouldn’t have the luxury to do.”
When it comes to his debut Saturday, Bradley said it will be key to tone things down and use whatever emotions he feels to his advantage. Then it will be time to pitch.
Not long ago Bradley was not only one of the D-backs’ best prospects, but one of the best in all of baseball. Entering 2014, MLB.com rated him as the fifth-best prospect in the game, while Baseball America and Baseball Prospectus had him ninth.
He struggled with injuries, though, and finished 2014 having pitched at three different levels with a 3-7 record and a 4.45 ERA.
