Broken Arrow HS coach Shannon Dobson talks Archie Bradley

DraftAmerica talks with Broken Arrow
High School baseball coach Shannon Dobson about budding two-sport
star Archie Bradley. The youngster has committed to play baseball at
Oklahoma University in addition to quarterback for the football team.
Dobson dishes on what fans can expect from Bradley, the grind of him
playing two sports, and what he needs to do to continue his ascent as
a pitcher.

DA: With Archie committing to play two
sports, does it go without saying that you are biased on what you
want him to ultimately pursue?

SD: I played at OU, so I’m happy he’s
going there. I think for him you’d like to see baseball more from a
health standpoint.

DA: What is the general scouting report
on Bradley?

SD: He’s a prototype guy as far as
pitcher, what you’re looking for. He’s about 6-4 ans 225 and he’s
gonna throw mid-90’s and he’s got a good second pitch in his breaking
ball. If you go to the field and scout him, as far as pitching is
concerned, he fits the bill as far as his physical features. He’s a
competitor and really loves to play, got a personality that’s
outgoing, he’s not shy and he talks to people, and he’s a good
teammate. So he’s a guy that has a lot going for him.

DA: What went into the two-sport
decision?

SD: That was more of a personal
decision, him and his parents. He’s got really good parents, but I
think it’s more or less him liking to compete. I know at this level
he can do this year round, but I’m not sure at what point that’s
going to change. Because that’s hard to do, play Division I football
and Division I baseball, and I know there are guys that have in the
past. But he’s one of those rare guys that has the capability of
doing that. I don’t know when that decision came, when he probably
started getting recruited by big schools at the time as far as
football interest. I think baseball is his first love, but I can’t
speak for him.

DA: How has his pitching developed and
what does he need to do to continue to improve in college?

SD: He’s got all the attributes, so for
him it’s probably going to be more cleaning up mechanics and learning
to pitch in situational stuff and obviously getting command of more
of his pitches. I think for him to keep moving and play at the
college level and even pro level he’s going to have to keep
developing his changeup. That’s an area that’s gotta get better,
because when you move on and you’re pitching at that higher level
it’s important to have at least three pitches.

DA: Is it safe to say he has the mental
toughness to handle the grind of playing both sports?

SD: I’ve been coaching for 20-25 years
and been around good players, guys that were drafted, but just to see
the attention a guy like [Archie] gets… we’ve averaged 40-50 scouts
a game. And he’s outgoing and has been able to handle that pressure.
Talking to those guys hasn’t intimidated him. He’s still a high
school kid, still young, but he’s matured on the field and he’s done
a great job to this point.

DA: Is there concern about his arm in
playing quarterback and also pitching?

SD: The way sports are now, everything
is so year-round. I think the arm action isn’t exactly the same with
football and baseball. But [in high school] we talked about when he
would get through with football giving him ample time to rest and not
pushing him into baseball too quickly to let him rest physically and
also mentally, because it is such a grind. And he didn’t really have
a lot of rest in the summer playing baseball down in Dallas, so he’s
been going at a pretty good pace and we just tried, before our season
started, to give him some down time because those guys they need
their rest, their bodies need to recover. So we tried to do that
before our season.

DA: Any idea when he might figure out
which sport he ultimately wants to pursue?

SD: To be able to play Division I in
both sports is really kind of rare. He can probably go either way, or
he could go both ways. It’s probably going to be a personal decision
on his part, but it’s going to have a lot to do with the [MLB] Draft
and what opportunities he’s going to have there. So we should know
more about that, what direction he might go, after the Draft in June.

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