3 college position players the Blue Jays should target in Round 1 of the MLB Draft

Enrique Bradfield Jr. - outfielder

The main thing you need to know about Enrique Bradfield Jr. is that he is fast, very fast. As you'd expect, he uses his elite speed to his advantage on both offence and defence.

The best way Bradfield Jr. utilizes his speed, is to steal bases. He set a new Vanderbilt career-record with 130 stolen bases, achieved in 191 games over three years.

This talent/ability was highlighted almost immediately, with the 21-year-old ranking top in the SEC in his first year at college with 47 stolen bases. He was also named 2021 SEC Freshman of the Year.

Of course it doesn't matter how fast you are, if you can't get on base. Bradfield Jr. is just fine in this area however - while not a power bat, he makes consistent contact with the bat including being an excellent bunter, which obviously also takes advantage of his tremendous speed.

The Pembroke Pines, Florida native hits a lot line drives which, again combined with his speed, can often offer the threat of doubles and triples. (To highlight this, he led the league in triples during his sophomore season in 2022.) During his time at Vanderbilt, he accrued a .311/.426/.337 slash line and .873 OPS.

Bradfield Jr. is well aware of what he brings to a team's lineup, no matter how much it might be underappreciated. As per Zielinski, he said:

"My ability to be a table setter on offense is my biggest strength. There aren’t many people who value a leadoff hitter in the game. I feel I bring that aspect to start a lineup, get on and create havoc."

Defensively, Bradfield Jr. doesn't have the strongest arm in the world, but it's good enough to compliment his blazing speed that enables him to cover ground quickly. Combined with rarely making any mistakes, he is more than capable of succeeding in centre field in the Majors.