Round Rock LHP Cody Bradford Promoted to Texas

ROUND ROCK, Texas – Welcome to The Show, Cody! The Texas Rangers announced that the club selected the contract of Round Rock Express LHP Cody Bradford on Monday afternoon. Bradford will start tonight against the Atlanta Braves at Globe Life Field. First pitch is slated for 7:05 p.m.

“I’m really excited for my family to be there; I have a lot of family and friends in town. I grew up about 40 minutes from Arlington. It’s really cool that I was drafted by my hometown team and that I get to debut for them. It’s an honor,” Bradford said.

In seven starts for the E-Train this season, Bradford went 5-1 and led the Pacific Coast League in ERA (0.91) and WHIP (0.86). He became the first pitcher in the minors to reach five wins and tossed 5.0 innings or more in all seven outings. The lefty averaged 5.2 innings per outing and did not surrender a run in four of his seven starts. He issued just 13 walks and collected 37 strikeouts.

In April, Bradford was named the PCL Pitcher of the Month and also earned the Texas Rangers Minor League Starting Pitcher of the Month honor. Bradford led the PCL in wins (5), ERA (0.64) and WHIP (0.77). He was tied for second in innings (28.1) and sixth in strikeouts (25) last month. Opponents hit just .135 against him, with righties struggling to the tune of a .107 batting average. He surrendered just one home run during those five starts.

Bradford did not allow a run for the first 12.2 frames of his Triple-A career. He allowed his first run of the season in his third start on April 14 against the Tacoma Rainiers. The southpaw did not need more than 87 pitches in any of his five starts.

In his Triple-A debut at Dell Diamond on April 1, the lefty tossed 5.1 innings of shutout baseball against the Albuquerque Isotopes. He allowed just two hits with two walks and struck out six. He needed only 73 pitches to get through the outing as he led the Express to their first win of the 2023 campaign.

On April 20 at Sacramento, Bradford tied a career-high with 7.0 innings on the mound and allowed only one earned run on five hits. He walked two and struck out five. It was the third time in Bradford’s career that he has pitched 7.0 innings and the first since August 12, 2022 while pitching for Double-A Frisco.

In his last start for the Express on May 9 against the Oklahoma City Dodgers, Bradford worked 6.0 innings of scoreless baseball and allowed only four hits with a season-high seven strikeouts. He issued only one walk.

Bradford, a native of Aledo, Texas, enters his third year in the Texas Rangers organization. He entered the season listed as the Rangers’ No. 22 prospect according to Baseball America. Bradford was a sixth-round selection by Texas in the 2019 MLB Draft. The lefty played three seasons at Baylor University from 2017-19 and posted a 12-11 record with a 3.86 ERA (76 ER/177.1 IP) over 32 games and 31 starts.

Meanwhile, Round Rock will welcome the El Paso Chihuahuas (San Diego Padres affiliate) to town on Tuesday, May 16 at 7:05 p.m. Express RHP Kyle Cody (0-2, 5.11) is currently scheduled to make the start against a Chihuahuas pitcher to be announced. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. from Dell Diamond.