Brad Eldred Stats & Scouting Report

AB	276
AVG	.203
OBP	.258
SLG	.417
HR	15

Full name Bradley Ross Eldred
Born 07/12/1980 in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Profile Ht.: 6'6" / Wt.: 270 / Bats: R / Throws: R
School Florida International
Debut 07/22/2005
Drafted in the 6th round (163rd overall) by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 2002.

Top Rankings

Organization Prospect Rankings

After ranking second in NCAA Division I with 29 homers in 2002, Eldred has continued to hit the longball as a pro. He has led the Pirates system in homers in each of his two full years, and he topped the minors with 137 RBIs last year. He was Carolina League MVP and Pittsburgh's minor league player of the year. Eldred has big-time power and dropped plenty of jaws last season with tape-measure homers. He has greatly improved his balance, swing and pitch recognition. He's also a good fielder and decent runner for a big man. Eldred strikes out a ton and doesn't walk much, a tradeoff the Pirates will live with in exchange for his home runs. Already large, he must keep an eye on his weight. Though he drove in 60 runs in 39 games at Altoona, Eldred is ticketed to return to Double-A to start 2005. A midseason promotion to Triple-A is likely and his big league debut is a possibility. Starved for power, the Pirates hope he develops into their cleanup hitter.
Eldred burst onto the scene as a senior at Florida International in 2002, finishing second in NCAA Division I with 29 homers. He has continued to hit for power in pro ball, making a rather seamless transition to wooden bats. Big and strong, Eldred can hit the ball a mile. His pop is intriguing in an organization lacking in that area, especially after losing first basemen Walter Young (to Baltimore on waivers) and Chris Shelton (to Detroit in the major league Rule 5 draft) during the offseason. The rest of Eldred's game isn't as solid. His lengthy swing makes him prone to strikeouts, and his long arms leave him vulnerable to being tied up by inside fastballs. He has decent speed and can steal a base if opponents forget about him. Eldred has gotten better defensively but still needs to improve his footwork at first base. The Pirates don't have a true first-base prospect ahead of him, but he'll have to develop better plate discipline in order to make it to the majors. Eldred will work on that this year in high Class A.

Minor League Top Prospects

Eldred took home MVP honors in the CL this year before moving on to Double-A Altoona, where he continued to hit for huge power with 17 homers in 147 at-bats. The 24-year-old first baseman has light-tower power, and his pop is intriguing in an organization that lacks a true power hitter. While he has tremendous power, the rest of Eldred's game isn't as solid. His lengthy swing makes him prone to strikeouts--he whiffed 97 times in 91 games for the Hillcats--and his long arms make him especially vulnerable to inside fastballs. "Too long for me," said a CL manager. "Our game plan against him was bust him in with fastballs and then set him up away, which is pretty standard for a guy like that. But you can't make a mistake or that ball's going at least a mile."