These are players in same age area as the 22 (soon to be 23) year old Bradley:

Trout, Harper Heyward, Stanton, Machado, Castro, Lawrie, S. Perez, Profar.

Play him. He's better than any other option in LF, and he's hitting .500 in ST!

Get with it Red Sox.

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However, all these arguments are moot for two reasons: 1) Bradley is proving he'€™s ready for the big league challenge, and 2) he can help the Red Sox win right now.

Yay! Yet another thread on why Jackie Bradley Jr. should start the season in Boston.

Harper? Stanton?  come on man....you are comparing Bradley to elite elite talent.  Those are the #1 prospects who have HOF ability.  Comp's are so horrible IMHO, and if we want to compare Bradley to anyone then why not the vast majority of Major league players who DON'T come up when they are 22-23, or how about the many that do come up and even though they have VERY GOOD MLB careers they struggle for a year or two (after tearing up the majors)

No one is saying JBJ isn't very close to ready, they are just saying not to rush him.  Many scouts, those in the know, the professionals, the talent evaluators had his ETA at 2014 the latest and mid 2013 by many standards...and I doubt a strong spring training does anything to change that.  A strong campaign in Pawtucket would do much to solidify his mid-2013 eta.

JBJ could very well have nothing left to learn in the minors and be up this season, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he struggles this year.  Actually I want to put that on the record now and say JBJ will struggle with MLB pitching this year.  He may make adjustments and prove me wrong.  Correction. He will make improvements and prove me wrong, but I won't be surprised if that period of struggle is longer than many here would be comfortable with

In response to ADG's comment:

While I agree 100% that he should be here...I will say...if he is not a fulltime player...which he wont be...then he should be sent down so he gets his AB's.  He is being groomed to be a full time player and if he is not traded then he will be next year.  He is not being groomed to be a platoon player, which is what he will be this year.

In response to Kingface12's comment:

It's all about risk-reward. The sox are a low risk, high reward organization. It's not in their nature to let a guy from AA make the leap, although he may be a rising star....too risky.

the bradley threads is almost at the same number of whiners.

more clogging the board with repetitive BS

It won't be bs when he makes the team.

In response to ADG's comment:

Unless there are a few key injuries in the outfield this spring JBJ will Not break camp with the team.  you can take that to the bank

In response to ADG's comment:

its BS because there are a bunch of the same threads.

He wont make the team, nor should he, if hes not going to play 100% of the time.

I would love to see him in Boston in 2013, but I also realize that its not a smart move if hes going to be a platoon player who constantly switches OF positions.

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After coming up on a tear JBJ came back down to earth and batted .274 in July and then .229 in august and then .000 in september.  Ok to his credit he only took 2 at bats in september.  

While still impressive, he noticably slowed down.  Now you can say whatever you want about that, or about how he is hitting now but this is what a professional would tell you about his drop off last year.  One of two things happened.

A.) pitchers in double a made adjustements to JBJ, and that will happen at the next level (AAA) and the level above that (MLB) and he will struggle. At least for a while. 

B.) Many many many players, most actually, struggle towards the end of their first full pro season. This is due to the fact that they are playing every day, and playing a lot more games than they were ever used to college. So their bodies need a few seasons to get used to the MLB season. 

 

The truth is, Bradley probably experienced a bit of both last year.  And it is very encouraging that he has had such an amazing spring.  But please lets not let that make us want to jump the gun.  This happens with EVERY prospect in Boston.  We always assume that success in the minors will 100% automatically right away translate to success at the MLB level.  And we have been spoiled over the years with guys like Ellsbury who come up and perform like a star right away....that just doesn't normally happen. 

There is less harm in starting him off in Pawtucket. which is still a promotion from the year before, and he will be on the fast track to the bigs.  Also you get another year out of him and start the arby clock later.  Now those of you who say you don't care about that arby clock and that it is a weak argument I have two points for you.  First of all, most MLB players do not perform overly well in their first year and guys like Harper are the exception not the norm.  Having one more year of Bradley in his prime is worth something.  Like it or not, this is a business and you have to think not just about next year or the year after that, but 5 years down the road as well. And there is substantial value in the years of team control an organization has.  Secondly I think that is secondary, I think that is an added benefit to letting him finish his development which is the most important thing.  So that wouldn't sway may opinion even if you could prove there was no added benefit from a a business perspect over the next half decade. 

If Bradley starts the season with Boston, and wins Rookie of the year then I will not only eat crow, but I will be extremely happy to do so.  I just don't think it's going to happen in my opinion (at least not out of camp) and it is in my opinion that we let him finish his development. 

Fans who keep comparing Bradley's situation to Trout never seem to remember Trout's debut in 2011when he had a .672OPS in his first 40 games...

heres the thing, sending him down to AAA is not going to do him much good, why? because AAA is filled with a variety of levels of competition which would not help him improve much as a hitter. the pitching is so inconsistent in AAA that it may not even help him improve as a hitter. thats why alot of top notch prospect go right to the bigs from AA. having him face consistent big league pitching would be more beneficial as he would learn to adjust to it. and it has become pretty evident that jackie bradley jr is the kind of hitter than learns to make adjustments and is very professional. i have no doubt that he would be able to handle the big leagues right now.

In response to redsoxpride34's comment:

But if sending him down for the first three or four weeks of the season will give the Sox another year of control, that would be the smart thing to do for a number of reasons. In addition to that extra year of control, it gives the Sox the chance to see how the new acquistions are doing. That's hardly going to make or break the season for the Sox.

In response to redsoxpride34's comment:

Down? He split time between single a and double a last year.  Pawtucket is a promotion.  How many minor league pitchers guys who will be cut and have no homes do you think he is facing on other teams this spring training....in limited at bats I might add.

I think Bradely was slated for a return to Portland, if anything this spring has earned him a promotion to Pawtucket. 

Fenway - the home of the 27 year old rookie

 

how about just picking your best players who give you the best chance to win...

control smontrol Roy....

In response to georom4's comment:

 

 

 

go root for the astros

lots of kids playing there.

More one line nonsense for the second incarnation of the HumperDog

<ignore>

If JBJ hits above .500 for all of spring training, he is probably as ready as he is going to be. Yes, the scouts may have projected mid-2013, but we are fairly close to their predictions.

Put the best team on the field... period! Nice to say that he has to develop further, but unless our other outfielders are hitting above .500 in ST (which they are NOT), I really don't see the argument of keeping him out. An extra year of control? please.... How about wins in April?
 How about winning this year in 2013?

In response to georom4's comment:

Does Bradley turn 27 before June?

In response to georom4's comment:

Don't let the facts get in the way of a good one-liner. Here are the ages of recent Sox players when they came up for good and in parenthesis the age when they started the season the first time with the big league club

Lester: 23; would have been 22 had it not been for the cancer.
Buchholz: 22 (23)
Pedroia: 22 (23)
Ellsbury: 23 (24)
Middlebrooks: 23 (24)
Papelbon: 24 (25) He only played two full seasons in the minors (plus the remainder of the year he was drafted, so he hardly was languishing in the minors).

The only player who fits your narrative is Kevin Youkilis, but he was a late bloomer anyway. He really wasn't projected to be the player he turned out to be.

And is the thing you complainers like to whine about with this ownership/gm group is that they're more concerned with the marketing/immediate splash, rather than the long-term health of the team.

With the spring Bradley has had, wouldn't it be more a marketing decision to bring up now and promoting the flashy rookie to try to extend the sell-out streak, rather than holding him back three weeks, inwhich he could still help the club this year and longer term down the road.

In response to georom4's comment:

That'd be bad if it was true...

Lester, Buchholz, Doubront, Bard, Ellsbury, Pedroia, Middlebrooks...average age 23 when they started playing for Red Sox.