Round Rock Express LHP Cody Bradford Named PCL Pitcher of the Year
ROUND ROCK, Texas – Minor League Baseball announced league awards and All-Stars for the Pacific Coast League on Wednesday afternoon. Round Rock Express LHP Cody Bradford was named PCL Pitcher of the Year. Bradford was also named a PCL All-Star alongside teammates RHP Robert Dugger and C Sam Huff. Bradford,
ROUND ROCK, Texas – Minor League Baseball announced league awards and All-Stars for the Pacific Coast League on Wednesday afternoon. Round Rock Express LHP Cody Bradford was named PCL Pitcher of the Year. Bradford was also named a PCL All-Star alongside teammates RHP Robert Dugger and C Sam Huff.
Bradford, Dugger and Huff are the first Round Rock players to earn Post-Season All-Star selections since OF Kyle Tucker in 2019. Bradford becomes the first Express pitcher to be named PCL Pitcher of the Year since RHP Bud Norris earned the honor in 2009.
Bradford earns the honor after going 9-2 with a 3.63 ERA (30 ER/74.1 IP) over 14 starts with the E-Train. He issued only 16 walks and collected 65 strikeouts. Bradford started the season with Round Rock and made seven starts before he made his Major League debut on May 15 against the Atlanta Braves. He jumped back and forth between Round Rock and Texas for the remainder of the season as he was optioned three separate times.
In his first seven starts, the lefty posted a 0.91 ERA (4 ER/39.2 IP) with 13 walks and 37 strikeouts while earning PCL Pitcher of the Month in April. 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. Bradford went at least 5.0 innings in each of his first 10 starts at the Triple-A level.
In one of his final starts of the season on August 19, Bradford tossed 6.0 innings of scoreless baseball en route to a victory at Sugar Land while posting a season-high eight strikeouts without issuing a walk. In 20 games and eight starts for Texas, Bradford went 4-3 with a 5.30 ERA (33 ER/56.0 IP). The Aledo, Texas native was a sixth-round selection by the Rangers in the 2019 MLB Draft out of Baylor University.
Dugger joins the PCL All-Star team after leading the Express in starts (29), innings (146.1) and strikeouts (143). Among PCL pitchers who threw at least 80.0 innings this year, Dugger finished first in ERA (4.31). He made a start in every single series this season and was named the Game 1 starter for the E-Train in the PCL Championship Series in Oklahoma City.
On September 2, Dugger reached 124 strikeouts and set the new single-season strikeout record for the Express since they became a Triple-A affiliate in 2005. The righty tossed 5.0 innings or more in 19 starts, 6.0 innings or more in 13 starts and 7.0 innings twice, averaging 5.0 innings per start. Dugger was selected in the 18th round of the 2016 MLB Draft out of Texas Tech University. He signed a minor league contract with the Rangers on March 29, 2023.
Huff slashed .298/.399/.548 this season with 17 doubles, 17 home runs, 67 RBI, 48 runs scored, 44 walks and 78 strikeouts in 68 games with the Express. When Huff was not on the Express roster, the club went just 26-33 while posting a 63-27 mark when he was on the active roster.
The righty was optioned to Round Rock four times during the year. In 21 games with Texas, he slashed .256/.289/.512 with two doubles, three home runs, six RBI, five runs scored, two walks and 17 strikeouts. In 138 games over three seasons with the Express, Huff is slashing .280/.368/.548/.916 with 22 doubles and 41 home runs. The Phoenix, Arizona native was selected in the seventh round of the 2016 MLB Draft by Texas.
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