n=99 near this checkpoint
Why he matters right now
Taj Bradley is top-10 in the majors in strikeouts
He is 8th in strikeouts at 205 — placements on MLB's own season boards, which rank every QUALIFIED pitcher in the sport rather than the few dozen this site tracks. Qualified is MLB's own bar, and it is the reason a part-season player with a big number is not on these boards at all.
This has been his headline for 34 straight days.
The case in 30 seconds
- 205 8th in strikeouts at 205 on MLB's season leaderboards MLB season leaderboard (the league's own top-10 board of qualified players, not this site's roster)
- 3.73 ERA over 178 innings, with 205 strikeouts, 31 starts and a 1.22 WHIP snapshot pitching board — the union of MLB's top-10 pitching boards, then MLB's 1.0 IP per team game rule applied; not the league's full qualified pool
The honest caveat
A top-ten finish is a position on a board, not a verdict on a player. The men just below him on it are not meaningfully worse, and one good week moves several places.
Every claim above, with its source (2)
- 8th in strikeouts at 205 on MLB's season leaderboards MLB season leaderboard (the league's own top-10 board of qualified players, not this site's roster)
- ERA over 178 innings, with 205 strikeouts, 31 starts and a 1.22 WHIP snapshot pitching board — the union of MLB's top-10 pitching boards, then MLB's 1.0 IP per team game rule applied; not the league's full qualified pool
The evidence
Situational splits
| Split | IP | ERA | SO | WHIP | AVG against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| vs RHP | 72.2 | — | 79 | 1.22 | .230 |
| vs LHP | 105.1 | — | 126 | 1.22 | .202 |
| Home | 79.2 | 3.05 | 92 | 1.10 | .194 |
| Away | 98.2 | 4.29 | 113 | 1.32 | .229 |
| Day | 74.2 | 3.25 | 76 | 1.29 | .219 |
| Night | 103.2 | 4.08 | 129 | 1.18 | .210 |
2026 season, MLB Stats API. A split with no plate appearances is omitted rather than shown as zeroes.
31G
31GS
178.1IP
12-6W-L
3.73ERA
1.22WHIP
205K
10.35K/9
0SV
Strikeout chase
| Chase | Current | Pace | Needed from here | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 K | 205 | 205 | done | ACHIEVED |
| 250 K | 205 | 205 | 45 K · — per team game | IMPOSSIBLE |
| 300 K | 205 | 205 | 95 K · — per team game | IMPOSSIBLE |
| 350 K | 205 | 205 | 145 K · — per team game | IMPOSSIBLE |
| 383 K | 205 | 205 | 178 K · — per team game | IMPOSSIBLE |
ERA & WHIP finish lines
| Finish | Current | Required rest-of-season | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sub-2.00 ERA | 3.73 | -10883699099478696.00 over about 0 innings | IMPOSSIBLE |
| Sub-1.75 ERA | 3.73 | -12452335688439124.00 over about 0 innings | IMPOSSIBLE |
| Sub-1.50 ERA | 3.73 | -14020972277399550.00 over about 0 innings | IMPOSSIBLE |
| Sub-1.00 WHIP | 1.22 | -1395646759523668.00 | IMPOSSIBLE |
| Sub-0.90 WHIP | 1.22 | -2023101395107839.00 | IMPOSSIBLE |
Recent game log
Derived nightly from the snapshot ledger — each row is the difference between consecutive days; multi-day rows are labeled.
| Date | Opp | Result | IP | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-22 | San Francisco Giants | W 3-2 | 6.0 | 6 |
| 2026-09-17 | Los Angeles Angels | L 4-5 | 7.0 | 9 |
| 2026-09-05 | Chicago White Sox | W 6-4 | 5.0 | 6 |
Recent highlights
Lahman + Retrosheet context
How this season fits history
Chase history
Stuff watch
Four-seamer velocity, start by start
Every start's average against his own trailing baseline of 97.4 ± 0.52 mph. Ringed dots sit more than one standard deviation under the baseline; last start 97.02 mph (2026-09-22).
No active signals — inside one standard deviation of his own baseline. A trend report, not a diagnosis.