JJ

Bleday

Bleday’s home run was his 13th of the year. He hit a three-run shot off David Peterson in the eighth inning. Bleday’s home run came with the game already out of reach, making a 9-0 lead 12-0. Still, Bleday has been a revelation for the Reds and fantasy managers this season. He’s hitting .272 with 34 RBI and a .953 OPS.

Bleday has cooled a little since bursting onto the scene with a hot bat and increased bat speed once the Reds called him up. However, he’s also yet to crater, and his expected stats back up the performance thus far. In addition to the bat speed gains, Bleday has trimmed his strikeout percentage, and the Reds’ home park remains highly favorable for power output. The best stretch of his season may very well be behind him, but there’s still fantasy juice to squeeze out of his profile heading into the summer.

The homer was his 11th of the year, a solo blast that came with two outs in the seventh inning and the game tied at 2. Cincinnati’s bullpen later blew the lead, setting up a Fernando Tatis Jr. walk-off homer. Bleday has looked like a transformed hitter this season, joining the Reds with significantly increased bat speed. They’re set to head back to hitter-friendly Great American Ballpark for a six-game homestand that begins Friday.

Bleday finds himself in the prime spot on Cincinnati manager Terry Francona’s lineup card for the third consecutive contest after hitting .291/.387/.632 with 10 homers and 27 RBI in 32 games since coming up from Triple-A Louisville. The power-hitting 28-year-old is making hard contact at a higher rate than ever while also showing the best plate skills of his career. It’s a bit of a small sample size, but a cursory glance under the hood suggests that his recent stratospheric production isn’t a mirage.

Bleday was one of the few bright spots for Cincinnati during this one-sided affair as he homered for the third time in his last four games. It’s admittedly a small sample size, but the 28-year-old slugging outfielder is striking out less often and making more consistent hard contact during his Reds debut, slashing .301/.398/.655 with 10 homers and 27 RBI in 133 plate appearances over 31 games this season. He should be rostered in all fantasy leagues by this point.

Bleday went 6-for-11 with two homers and five RBI in the series against the Braves and now has his OPS back over 1.000. He doesn’t qualify for leaderboards yet after opening up in the minors, but he’d currently rank third in the majors and first in the NL in OPS. His 1.040 mark trails only Ben Rice’s 1.066 and Yordan Alvarez’s 1.050.

Bleday started against a lefty for the sixth time since being called up and homered off Martín Pérez to help his case for remaining a full-timer. He seemed to have cooled off last week, but he’s gone 8-for-20 with three homers in his last five games.

Ronald Acuña Jr. barely even moved as Bleday crushed a Grant Holmes fastball to right field that went 393 feet and landed several rows up in the stands. Bleday has continued to rake since being installed as a regular for the Reds, hitting .287/.392/.604 with eight bombs and a stolen base. The window to pick him up as a free agent has likely passed, but his underlying stats are good enough that fantasy managers should feel good trading for him at this point if they have a hole to fill in the outfield.

This isn’t a big surprise, as Suárez was just activated off the injured list Friday after missing 25 games with his oblique strain. He’ll get the second half of the twin-billing off with JJ Bleday in the lineup as the designated hitter. Spencer Steer and Tyler Stephenson are also out of action with Nathaniel Lowe and P.J. Higgins getting the starts in their absence.

Bleday’s latest multi-hit performance pushes his triple-slash line to a surreal .345/.465/.776 with six homers, 19 RBI and one steal in 17 games since coming up from Triple-A Louisville last month. The 28-year-old has done a remarkable job making hard contact at much more frequent rates than previously in his career with his average exit velocity and hard-hit rate skyrocketing to near-elite levels. He’s also pulling the ball in the air 39.5 percent of the time this season, per Statcast, which has enabled him to hit for much more power. He’s also chasing out of the zone less frequently and striking out less than ever before. Simply put, there’s a lot to like here. He was probably scooped up off waivers a couple weeks ago, but Bleday should be rostered in all fantasy leagues.