O's center fielder of the future Bradfield Jr. displaying 80-grade speed in Fall League

PEORIA, Ariz. -- Enrique Bradfield Jr.'s center-field defense has become the talk of the Arizona Fall League. Because he keeps giving everyone else so much material.

The Orioles’ No. 4 prospect delivered the web gem of this year’s campaign last Thursday with a leaping catch at the left-center wall that stole a home run from Fenwick Trimble and served as the final out of Peoria’s 6-2 win at Mesa. On Tuesday in the first game of a home doubleheader against Scottsdale, Bradfield was back at it from the first inning, this time jumping into the right-center wall to steal extra bases away from the Tigers' Kevin McGonigle (DET No. 1/MLB No. 2), the top-ranked prospect in this year’s Fall League.

“Pretty much every ball that I see go up in the air, I feel like I'm going to catch it until it dictates that I'm not -- whether somebody else is going to catch it, whether it's going to leave the yard,” Bradfield said. “That's just the way I think, and I'm always thinking one step ahead.”

The 2023 first-rounder’s glovework shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone who followed his collegiate or professional career to this point.

With 80-grade speed, he’s been considered at least a plus-plus defender since his days at Vanderbilt -- a big reason for his push to the 17th overall pick -- and that reputation continues to hold. He’s one of only 13 ranked prospects with a 70 fielding grade in MLB Pipeline’s current rankings.

But while many associate pure blazing speed with top-line defense on the grass, that isn’t always the case. Just look at Chandler Simpson’s 97th percentile Sprint Speed and 11th percentile range in his rookie season with the Rays. With his two recent highlight-worthy snags, Bradfield has proven he’s more than just a sprinter; rather he’s someone who can equally use timing and hops to snuff out potential homers and other balls at the fence.

“Anytime I can go and help the pitcher out on the mound that day or help the team with a catch like that, that's ultimately what I'm out there to do,” he said. “Just do my job, and make sure the ball stays in the yard.”

Interestingly, on Tuesday’s catch against McGonigle, Bradfield started from a depth of 346 feet, 8 yards beyond the 2025 MLB average for center fielders of 322 feet. He got his legs moving by starting to creep in, generating kinetic energy that can help him get moving quicker than he would from a standing position.

“I'm walking the whole time from my pre-pitch,” Bradfield said. “I'm always moving. I know I can go get anything over my head, so I want to see if I can take away those low percenters in front of me.”

Like any of baseball’s five major tools, defense takes work and constant vigilance.

“That was something that I started working on when I got to Triple-A,” Bradfield said. “Outfield coach Billy Facteau and I had some conversations, watched some film, watched some guys, so we made that change and I made a couple really nice low-percent catches.

“Anytime I can make a five-star catch, that's something that I'm going to want to do as much as possible.”

With his 80-grade speed, Bradfield also wants to frequently show off those wheels on the basepaths too. Sure enough, he laid down a bunt up the right side of the infield for a leadoff single in the first inning Tuesday (the same frame as the McGonigle catch). Statcast measured his Sprint Speed at 31.0 ft/sec, his third time reaching such a mark. In fact, he’s the only Fall Leaguer to register a Sprint Speed at or above 31.0 ft/sec; averaging above 30 is considered to be elite. His 3.73-second home-to-first time on that bunt was also the fastest recorded in this year’s AFL -- a sign he may be just getting warmed up after two hamstring injuries limited him to 76 games during the regular season.

“There was a lot of green grass out there,” Bradfield said. “Make the defenses come and try to field it. [Watching] multiple people chase the ball, knowing that you're going to make it down there and be safe, it's a good feeling.”

The former Commodore is 10-for-32 (.313) through eight games and leads the circuit with eight steals in eight attempts.

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Still, the defense is what has gotten the most attention in the desert, and it’s worth noting the Orioles, who used six different center fielders after Cedric Mullins’ departure at the Trade Deadline, ranked 21st in the Majors in center-field Outs Above Average in 2025 and 26th in Fielding Run Value in the middle of the grass.

Even with his tweaks, Bradfield retains the same Gold Glove potential as a pro that he had as an amateur, and it's that defensive ceiling that could get him up quickly to the Majors in 2026.

“I've been elite [in] both places,” he said. “I've gotten better at every level, but still the same thing.”