Shelton knows Bradley may be a wild card in the Twins' rotation.
The Minnesota Twins needed someone to step up on Thursday, and Taj Bradley answered in a big way.
The 25-year-old right-hander threw six scoreless innings against the Kansas City Royals, giving up just five hits while striking out three and walking one in a 5-1 victory at Kauffman Stadium.
Bradley's Best Stuff Was on Display
The outing was a significant jump from his season debut against Baltimore, where he struck out nine batters but lasted only 4.1 innings because of a high pitch count.
Against Kansas City, he was far more efficient and controlled, and the biggest moment of his afternoon came against one of the best hitters in baseball.
With runners on in the third inning, Bradley struck out Bobby Witt Jr. to end the threat, and manager Derek Shelton was clearly impressed by what he saw.
"It was 100 [mph] with like 23, 24 inches of vert, you don't see that very often," Shelton said. "And we're talking about [against] a guy that's led baseball in hits the last two years and is one of the best players. I think [Bradley] wanted that at-bat. He went back and got it. It's good to see."
That kind of confidence in a big spot is exactly what Minnesota has been hoping to see from Bradley since they acquired him from Tampa Bay last summer in exchange for reliever Griffin Jax.
Through two starts this season, he owns a 1-0 record with a 0.87 ERA, 12 strikeouts and a 1.16 WHIP, and the early returns suggest the Twins may have gotten exactly the kind of arm they were hoping for.
A Rotation That Can Still Compete
Shelton didn't stop at the highlights, though.
He talked about where Bradley is in his overall development and what this kind of performance means going forward.
"We've talked about it with Taj, there's going to be maturation, and today we saw another step of maturation," Shelton said.
That maturation matters a lot for a Twins team that is still trying to find its footing at 2-4.
Minnesota lost Pablo Lopez for the entire 2026 season after he underwent an internal brace procedure on a torn UCL in his right elbow back in February, which left a massive hole at the top of the rotation.
Joe Ryan has stepped into the ace role, with Bailey Ober and Simeon Woods Richardson also holding down rotation spots alongside Bradley and Mick Abel.
None of those guys carry the track record that Lopez does, but the raw talent is there, and Bradley is the one showing the most early-season growth.
His fastball has been sitting around 97 mph this year with a noticeable jump from the 96.2 mph average he posted in 2025, and he even touched 99.6 in his first start.
If that velocity sticks and he continues pitching deeper into games the way he did against Kansas City, the Twins rotation might not miss Lopez as much as people expected.
Minnesota heads home Friday to open its first series at Target Field this season, hosting the Tampa Bay Rays with Bailey Ober on the mound.
It also happens to be a reunion of sorts for Bradley, who will get to face his former team when his next turn comes around.