Have a day, Bleday: JJ hits HR, 3B vs. Cards

JUPITER, Fla. -- Marlins prospect JJ Bleday's performance in Saturday night's 6-4 win over the Cardinals at Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium begged the question of when -- not if -- we should expect to see him make his Major League debut in 2021. In the second-to-last Grapefruit game, he went 2-for-3 with a triple and a home run.

MLB Pipeline, which ranks him 20th overall, projects Bleday will receive the call this season. Earlier this spring, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said it wasn't out of the realm of possiblity. Following Saturday's showing, that sentiment grew stronger.

"I think he's just at-bats away, getting enough at-bats, seeing more styles, different guys going through more," Mattingly said during a Zoom call. "And that's really all you see. It's hard to say that he needs to do this, this or this. I think it's just a matter of getting at-bats and putting the rest of that together."

Bleday is Miami's final remaining non-roster top prospect still in camp. The 23-year-old outfielder is getting an extended look at big league pitchers, much like he did last spring in nine games and last summer at the alternate training site. It's crucial to his development after a lost Minor League season in 2020.

On Saturday, after striking out looking on a seven-pitch at-bat against Cardinals Opening Day starter Jack Flaherty, Bleday knocked extra-base hits against left-handers Kwang Hyun Kim (triple) and Génesis Cabrera (homer) in consecutive at-bats.

"It's huge. It's a big confidence boost," Bleday said during a Zoom call. "You've got to take that into wherever you're headed this spring, and wherever you're going to be at throughout the season. You can kind of go back, draw on those experiences and be like, 'Hey, I've competed against the best,' and you're able to keep growing off that, keep improving and keep trying to top that to where you're continuing to try and find success and just not over-pushing it. You want to let the game come to you, but again it's just a big confidence booster when you're facing some of the best arms in the world."

Of late, the left-handed-hitting Bleday has been working on his approach against southpaws, since he hasn't shown much pop against them in the past. Bleday studied what former All-Star slugger Mark Teixeira used to do at the plate, keeping his front shoulder open so he could be ready to do damage if they came inside with a pitch. Bleday equated it to having two eyes on the pitcher, with the ability to reach all pitches in the zone.

In the matchup against Cabrera, Bleday sent a 96.6 mph four-seam fastball middle-away over the left-field wall. According to Statcast, the drive went a projected 366 feet, with an exit velocity of 100.3 mph and a 28-degree launch angle.

What impressed Mattingly most was Bleday putting himself into a good count by not chasing, forcing the pitcher back into the strike zone. His handling of at-bats and ability to go to all fields highlight his advanced hit tool. Both of Bleday's homers this spring have gone to the opposite field, with the first coming in the Grapefruit League opener on Feb. 28. Through 18 games, he is slashing .231/.344/.615.

"It's been being able to see as much big league pitching as I can, I think that's the big takeaway," Bleday said. "It's really just been literally get as much big league pitching and facing as much as you can, because that's what's going to get you comfortable. And that's what's going to get you confident and able to compete when you do get that callup whenever that is."