JJ Bleday's 2024 Breakout Campaign

JJ Bleday was acquired by the Oakland Athletics in the trade that sent left-handed pitcher A.J. Puk to the Miami Marlins last February. Miami originally drafted Bleday with the fourth pick in the 2019 draft out of Vanderbilt, while Puk was taken by the A's with the sixth overall selection in 2016.

Bleday was noted for his elite bat speed, plus arm, and power that he started to harness his junior year with the Commodores. After having a shaky start with the Marlins minor league affiliates and struggling at the MLB level in 2022, Miami was ready to move on from Bleday.

In comes Oakland, who were looking to develop and build on Bleday's best traits. They got to work on just that, sending Bleday to Triple-A Las Vegas to start the 2023 season before recalling him on May 3, 2023. For the rest of last season, Bleday was in and out of the lineup where he saw a total of 303 plate appearances with a .666 OPS.

Now in 2024, the A's center fielder seems to have figured it out at the plate and is getting everyday at-bats. So far in 88 games, Bleday is hitting .237/.318/.429 with 11 HR and 36 walks in 356 plate appearances. The question now is, why has Bleday started to see improvement at the plate?

For starters, Bleday has been much more disciplined. He is striking out at a 19% rate, which is almost 5% better compared to last season. According to Baseball Savant, Bleday is barreling the ball more than he ever has, which is leading to higher exit velocities.

In addition, Bleday is crushing fastballs which has resulted in .306 average against said pitches with a .553 slugging percentage. This might be the biggest improvement in Bleday's at-bats this season. There is a significant improvement in his results compared to 2023 when he hit .215 against heaters, and 2022 when he was below the Mendoza Line at .176.

Patience has been key for Bleday as well, as he has taken more first pitch strikes this year waiting for the right one to come. His chase percentages are also lower than the MLB average, suggesting Bleday has a good feel for the zone. Discipline and patience has led to Bleday hitting for more power, seeing more pitches, and becoming a more successful hitter.

Bleday talked about his approach in recent games on Thursday's postgame show. "The main thing as of late is making sure I'm on time. When I don't square up the ball or I'm making kind of dumb decisions at the plate, usually I'm rushed. It's kind of just getting back to the basics and the most simple thoughts. I'm really just trying to hit a ball low and hard the other way."

After the A's win over the Angels on Tuesday night, manager Mark Kotsay spoke a little about the outfielder's defense after Bleday made a sliding grab in the eighth inning. "To make that play in the inning that he did [was] a big momentum changer. He's getting confident and being a little more aggressive. I think that was one of the bigger plays in the game that went unnoticed."

Hopefully as the season goes on Bleday continues to live up to the potential that was written all over him when he was drafted. Bleday has been one of the best center fielders in the league this season, providing a huge boost for the A's offensively and defensively. If Bleday continues down this path, maybe we will get some more late-inning heroics like his walk-off home run against the Toronto Blue Jays.