After up-and-down 2021, bulked up JJ Bleday looks to learn from struggles
It was easy to notice something different about JJ Bleday when he made his way to the back fields of the Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium complex in Jupiter.
In addition to the Miami Marlins outfielder prospect having a renewed sense of confidence after a successful outing at the Arizona Fall League to wrap up his 2021 season, Bleday had noticeably bulked up.
He checked in to the Marlins’ development camp that started a couple weeks ago at about 215 pounds, up nearly 20 pounds from the 195 he weighed at the start of spring training a year ago.
“I feel more grounded when I’m a little bit bigger, have more body control,” Bleday said. “And then the main thing, just recovery. My sleep’s been better, and overall my body feels a lot more recovered.”
He’ll take anything that can help.
Bleday, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2019 MLB Draft, had an inconsistent first full season of professional baseball. Early struggles with the Double A Pensacola Blue Wahoos put a damper on the high expectations surrounding him.
He took advantage of his chance for redemption at the Arizona Fall League, finishing as the league’s Co-Hitter of the Year along with St. Louis Cardinals first baseman prospect Juan Yepez after a dominant six weeks.
“It felt good to have a taste in the mouth like that to end on,” Bleday said.
And it sets him up for the potential to fast-track his way to the big leagues. Bleday will most likely start the season with the Triple A Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, one step away from the big leagues.
But Bleday is placing an emphasis on focusing on the present in order to make that future possible.
“Just be where my feet are,” Bleday said. “When you’re where you’re supposed to be at mentally on a daily basis, you don’t get too far ahead and you’re not too worried about the expectation rather than the goal at hand. That’s it.”
‘Trusting myself’
When Bleday went through his early-season struggles with the Blue Wahoos, he went deep into his memory bank to the last time he had an extended run of failure.
It was the summer of 2017 after his freshman year at Vanderbilt. Bleday was playing in the New England Collegiate Baseball League. After recording five hits in his first three games, Bleday went 11 consecutive games without a hit. His batting average dipped to .122. Nothing was working at the plate.
“I kind of had to go back to that and realize what I was doing right and what I was doing wrong,” Bleday said Friday. “The main thing came down to trusting myself and trusting my swing and putting into play what it’s supposed to feel like on a daily basis. That came back to staying inside the baseball and getting back to the basics.”
Bleday made a few minor changes to his mechanics. The hitch in his swing appears to be mostly gone and he simplified his setup.
“The routine and the approach is more refined,” Bleday said.
The results started to show as the season ended. Over the final five-and-a-half weeks of the minor-league season, Bleday hit .263 with an .815 on-base-plus slugging, three home runs, seven doubles, 19 RBI and 11 runs scored over 116 plate appearances.
That success continued in the Arizona Fall League. Bleday finished in the top 10 among 70 qualified hitters in total extra-base hits (second, 15), doubles (T-second, eight), RBI (T-third, 24), triples (T-fourth, two), OPS (fifth, 1.035), runs scored (T-fifth, 20), slugging (eighth, .600) and home runs (T-eighth, five).
He was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle on two different occasions.
“We had a number of scouts and personnel and staff go out to the fall league to see him there,” Marlins general manager Kim Ng said. “I think all the reports from the fall were that he had put some strength together and I think seeing him now just reaffirms that.”
‘Worry about yourself’
While there is friendly competition inside the organization, and the Marlins have considerable outfielder depth at the minor-league level, Bleday knows his primary focus has to be on his individual production and growth.
That will continue for Bleday over the next two months as he prepares for the start of the minor-league season, the start of another opportunity.
“When it comes down to it,” Bleday said, “you’ve just got to worry about yourself. You’re here for a reason, so you’ve just got to keep the blinders on and focus on the job at stake and at hand and do it with a sense of urgency. Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. Go out there, support, compete with each other and against one another and it’s going to bring out the best in everyone around here.”
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