The Miami Marlins came into the 2019 MLB draft looking to land a prize position player, preferably one with a knack for power hitting, early.
At first glance, it looks like they have found their guy.
The Marlins selected Vanderbilt outfielder JJ Bleday with the No. 4 overall pick of the 2019 MLB draft on Monday.
The Baltimore Orioles selected Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman with the No. 1 overall pick. The Kansas City Royals took Texas-based prep shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. at No. 2, and the Chicago White Sox took Cal first baseman Andrew Vaughn at No. 3 before the Marlins made their selection.
Bleday is just the second college position player the Marlins have drafted in the first round this century. The other: North Carolina third baseman Colin Moran with the No. 6 overall pick in 2013.
Bleday's power stroke has been on full display during his junior season with the Commodores. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound left-handed hitter from Panama City Beach has belted out an NCAA-leading 26 home runs for Vanderbilt, the No. 2 national seed in the NCAA Tournament, while posting a .353 batting average, 68 RBIs and 75 runs scored. Half of his home runs this year have come against the always difficult Southeastern Conference. He has a .327 career batting average in college. Bleday is one of four finalists for the Golden Spikes Award, given annually to the best player in college baseball.
He had a five-hit game during the SEC tournament against Auburn on the day that Marlins part-owner and CEO Derek Jeter and a brass of Marlins executives scouting him in person in Birmingham, Ala.
"Bleday does it unconventionally _ he looks like he's swinging an axe but doing it uphill _ yet he's produced both at Vanderbilt and on the Cape last summer," ESPN's Keith Law, who ranked Belday as his No. 7 overall prospect this draft cycle, wrote in his scouting report. "... He's a right fielder with the arm and power to profile as a regular there all the way to the majors, but teams will have to accept the unorthodox swing as part of the risk."
Bleday also has close ties to a key member of the Marlins' scouting contingent in director of amateur scouting D.J. Svihlik, who was a hitting coach and recruiting coordinator at Vanderbilt for one season before joining the Marlins in November 2017.
"Obviously because of my connection to Vanderbilt it would make sense," Svihilik said last week, "but I would tell you that I trust our scouting department. I trust myself. I trust our entire staff. We have deep relationships with a lot of these players at the top of the board."
Bleday is the fourth Vanderbilt outfielder to be selected in the top three rounds of the MLB draft over the last five years. According to MLBPipeline, which ranked Bleday as the No. 5 overall prospect this year, "Bleday is a better bet to produce at the plate than all of them."
"One of the best pure hitters in the college ranks, he has a quick left-handed swing, controls the strike zone well and hammers line drives to all fields," MLBPipeline's scouting report continues. "He has started to translate the bat speed, strength and leverage in his 6-foot-3 frame into at least solid power."
Bleday's selection adds even more young outfield depth to the Marlins' farm system. Of the Marlins' 15 position players ranked among their top 30 prospects heading into the draft, seven are outfielders.
Baseball America ranked Bleday as the draft's No. 5 overall prospect.
"With a balanced stance, smooth swing, solid bat speed and a refined approach with more walks than strikeouts in his college career, Bleday had the look of a high-floor hitter with a plus hit tool," the Baseball America scouting report reads. "However, there were initially some questions surrounding his ability to consistently impact the baseball. Bleday has answered those questions this spring, as he has regularly tapped into the plus raw power that he'd previously been unable to reach during games.
The Marlins have two more picks on the Opening Day of the draft, No. 35 and No. 46.
