JJ Bleday Was Non-Tendered, Now His .755 SLG Is A Nightmare For Pitchers

Alright, Seattle, listen up, because what’s happening in Cincinnati is wild, and it's got pitchers around the league scratching their heads. Remember JJ Bleday? The guy the A’s basically non-tendered, saying "Thanks, but no thanks" over the offseason? Well, the Reds snagged him on a one-year deal, and holy smokes, has that paid off! Since his April 26 season debut, this 28-year-old has been on an absolute tear in 16 games, rocking a .321/.455/.755 slash line and four dingers. Who saw *this* coming?

This Ain't No Small Sample: The Bat Speed That Changed Everything

16 games, you say? The numbers prove this isn't a fluke, it's a *transformed* hitter. Bleday always had pop, hitting 44 homers from 2023-25, including 20 in '24. But now? It's beyond anything he's ever shown. His OPS exploded from .701 (2022-25) to a ridiculous 1.210 (2026), with slugging going from .394 to .755, xwOBA from .301 to .486, and xSLG from .373 to .676. His barrel rate doubled from 7.9% to 15.4%, average exit velocity is up from 88.3 mph to 94 mph, and hard-hit rate exploded from 36.4% to 56.4%. The game-changer? His average bat speed shot up from 71.7 mph last year to 74.9 mph in 2026, one of the biggest jumps in the league. He also opened his batting stance from 11 degrees to 27 degrees. Now, 76.9 percent of his batted balls are in the air, third highest among hitters with 25+ batted balls, and he's pulling 33.3 percent of those airballs, a top-10 mark. Why's that matter? Pulled airballs absolutely demolish, slugging 1.212 across the league since 2025. He’s swinging faster, getting the ball in the air, and pulling it with authority. Yikes for opposing pitchers.

Not Just Crushing It, But Smarter Too? Yikes.

It would be one thing if Bleday was just selling out for power and striking out a ton, right? Nope! He’s actually improved his plate discipline. Last season, his 26.5 percent strikeout rate is nearly halved to 15.1 percent. His whiff rate is a career-low 25.7 percent, down from 29.8 percent. And get this: his walk rate has jumped from 10.5 percent last year to a phenomenal 21.3 percent this season, tying for third-best among all hitters with at least 50 plate appearances. Pitchers are definitely reacting. He's swinging at the first pitch 35 percent of the time, his career highest, yet pitchers are only throwing in the zone 46.8 percent of the time, the lowest against him. When you improve contact quality, quantity, *and* plate discipline, that's not luck. This former No. 4 overall pick and top-20 prospect might finally be putting it all together. It's early, but these changes are real. Meanwhile, back in the Emerald City, our Mariners just snagged an 8-3 win against the Houston Astros! Let's keep that momentum rolling, Seattle!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.