MLB
Jackie Bradley Jr. Has Become a Star for the Red Sox
The Boston outfielder is in the midst of a long hitting streak and has become one of the game's best young players.

April 23rd. That is the last time Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley played a professional baseball game without getting a hit.

That was 27 games ago. During his 27-game hitting streak, Bradley has batted .408, with 40 hits in those 27 games. As impressive, his on-base percentage is .487 as he's also drawn 14 walks during this stretch. And it hasn't been all singles and blooper, either.

Bradley's 27-game hitting streak has featured 8 home runs, 7 doubles and 3 triples, good for a slugging percentage of .786 and an OPS of 1.272. On the season, Bradley is batting .342, with an American League-best .413 OBP. He has a .618 slugging percentage and an OPS of 1.031.

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Here is where Bradley ranks among qualified American Leaguers in the main offensive categories.

Statistic Value Rank
FanGraphs WAR (fWAR) 1.8 T-9
Batting Average 0.342 3
On-Base Percentage 0.413 T-1
Slugging Percentage 0.618 2
Weighted Runs Created-Plus (wRC+) 176 2
Weighted On-Based Average 0.432 2
Home Runs 8 T-25
Doubles 10 T-22
Triples 4 T-1


Bradley emerged as a good young player last year when, in 255 plate appearances, he slashed .249/.335/.498 with 10 homers, 43 RBI, 43 runs scored, a wRC+ of 121, and an fWAR of 2.4.

That high wins above replacement figure is also due in large part to his outstanding defensive skills.

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Over the last two weeks, Bradley has been especially valuable, as has most of the incredible Boston offense.


Bradley's 27-game hitting streak has been fun to watch, as are all long hitting streaks. And with a hit in Tuesday night's game against the Colorado Rockies at Fenway Park, he will be halfway to Joe DiMaggio's record 56-game hitting streak set nearly 75 years ago in 1941.

The odds of Bradley reaching DiMaggio are exceedingly remote. After all, the closest anyone has gotten is Pete Rose's 44-gamer in 1979. There are so many variables at play in keeping something like this going. And it's fair to note that no player has had at least a 30-game hitting streak since Andre Ethier with the Dodgers in 2011.

While the hitting streak itself is what is making news, it really only serves to shine a light on the fact that Jackie Bradley Jr. is becoming one of the game's newest superstars.

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