Jeffrey Joseph Bleday (born November 10, 1997) is an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to catch ...

for the

Athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competitio ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). The

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League East, East Division. The ...

selected Bleday with the fourth overall pick of the

2019 MLB draft The 2019 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks ...

. He made his MLB debut in 2022 with the Marlins and was traded to Oakland before the 2023 season.

Amateur career

Bleday grew up in Titusville,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, and attended Titusville Area High School as a freshman and sophomore before transferring to A. Crawford Mosley High School in Lynn Haven,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

for his junior and senior years. As a junior, he batted .373 while pitching to a 4–1 record and 2.43 earned run average. After his senior year, Bleday was drafted by the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. ...

in the 39th round of the

2016 Major League Baseball draft The 2016 Major League Baseball draft began on June 9, 2016, to assign amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order is the reverse order of the 2015 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks were distributed for players who ...

. However, he did not sign and instead chose to attend

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

to play

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for the

Vanderbilt Commodores The Vanderbilt Commodores are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Vanderbilt University, located in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt fields 16 varsity teams (6 men's teams and 10 women's teams), 14 of which compete at the National ...

. In 2017, as a freshman at Vanderbilt, Bleday appeared in 51 games in which he hit .256 with two home runs and 22 runs batted in (RBIs). That summer, he played for the

Newport Gulls The Newport Gulls are a wooden-bat, collegiate summer baseball team based in Newport, Rhode Island. The Newport Gulls Baseball Club is a member of the Coastal Division of the New England Collegiate Baseball League. Since 2001, the Gulls have pla ...

of the

New England Collegiate Baseball League The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 13-team collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 44-game schedule during June ...

where he batted .232 with two home runs over 69

at-bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens upon completion of his turn at bat, b ...

. As a sophomore in 2018, Bleday missed 22 games due to an oblique injury but still appeared in 39 games for the Commodores, batting .368 with four home runs and 15 RBIs. Following the collegiate season, he played in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

and was named a league all-star and the top professional prospect after hitting .311 with five home runs and 15 RBIs in during 36 games for the

Orleans Firebirds The Orleans Firebirds, formerly the Orleans Cardinals, are a collegiate summer baseball team based in Orleans, Massachusetts. The team is a member of the Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL) and plays in the league's East Division. The Firebirds play ...

. In 2019, Bleday's junior year, he was named the

Southeastern Conference Baseball Player of the Year The Southeastern Conference Player of the Year is a baseball award given to the Southeastern Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1993 season, with both pitchers and position players eligible. After the 2003 ...

. He finished the season slashing .347/.465/.701 with 27 home runs and 72 RBIs during 71 games, helping Vanderbilt win the

2019 NCAA Division I baseball tournament The 2019 NCAA Division I baseball tournament was a tournament of 64-teams to determine the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I national champion for the 2019 season. The 73rd annual edition of the tournament began on May ...

Professional career

Miami Marlins

Bleday was considered one of the top prospects for the

2019 Major League Baseball draft The 2019 Major League Baseball draft was held from June 3 to 5, 2019. The draft assigned amateur baseball players to MLB teams. The draft order was set based on the reverse order of the 2018 MLB season standings. In addition, compensation picks ...

. He was selected by the

with the fourth overall pick and signed for $6.7 million. He made his professional debut on July 20, 2019, with the

Class A-Advanced High-A, officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing, is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A and D ...

Jupiter Hammerheads The Jupiter Hammerheads are a Minor League Baseball team of the Florida State League and the Single-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in the town of Jupiter in Palm Beach County, Florida, and play their home games at Roger Dean ...

of the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following ...

and spent the whole season there. Over 38 games, Bleday slashed .257/.311/.379 with three home runs and 19 RBIs. Bleday did not play a minor league game in 2020 due to the cancellation of the minor league season caused by the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. For the 2021 season, he was assigned to the

Pensacola Blue Wahoos The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League (1964–present), Southern League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home ga ...

of the Double-A South. Over 110 games, he slashed .212/.323/.373 with 12 home runs, 54 RBIs, 22 doubles, and 101 strikeouts. He walked 64 times during the season which was second in the league. He was selected to play in the

Arizona Fall League The Arizona Fall League (AFL) is an off-season baseball league owned and operated by Major League Baseball (MLB) which operates during autumn in Arizona, United States, at six different baseball complexes. Arizona Fall League rosters are filled ...

(AFL) for the

Mesa Solar Sox The Mesa Solar Sox are a baseball team that plays in the East Division of the Arizona Fall League. They play their home games in Mesa, Arizona, at Sloan Park, which is also the spring training facility of the Chicago Cubs. The team was establi ...

after the season where he was named to the Fall Stars Game and was named the game's MVP. Bleday ended the AFL with a .316/.435/.600

slash line This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries. 0–9 0 :"Oh and ..." See count. 1 ...

over 25 games and was named the league's Hitter of the Year alongside

Juan Yepez Juan David Yepez (born February 19, 1998) is a Venezuelan professional baseball outfielder and first baseman in the Washington Nationals organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the St. Louis Cardinals. Career A ...

. Prior to the 2022 season, Bleday gained of muscle. He was assigned to the

Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp The Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are located in Jacksonville, Florida, and are named for shrimp caught in th ...

of the Triple-A

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

to begin the year. On July 23, 2022, the Marlins selected Bleday's contract and promoted him to the major leagues. He made his major league debut as a

pinch-hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter (PH) is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, Am ...

that night at

PNC Park PNC Park is a baseball stadium on the North Shore (Pittsburgh), North Shore of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is the fifth location to serve as the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates. Opened during the 2001 Major League Baseb ...

versus the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

, drawing a walk in his only plate appearance of the night. He recorded his first major league hit the next night with an infield single off of

Mitch Keller Mitch Thomas Keller (born April 4, 1996) is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2019 and was an All-Star in 2023. Amateur career Keller was drafted by the ...

. On July 27, Bleday hit his first career home run, a solo shot off of

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

starter Luis Castillo. He would play in 65 games for Miami in 2022, hitting .167/.277/.309 with 5 home runs and 16 RBIs.

Oakland Athletics / Athletics

On February 11, 2023, the Marlins traded Bleday to the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

in exchange for A. J. Puk. Bleday was optioned to the Triple-A

Las Vegas Aviators The Las Vegas Aviators, formerly known as the Las Vegas 51s and Las Vegas Stars, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Athletics. They are located in Summerlin South, Nevada, a comm ...

to begin the 2023 season. The Athletics promoted him to the major leagues on May 3. On August 15, Bleday was placed on the injured list; following an

MRI Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging technique used in radiology to generate pictures of the anatomy and the physiological processes inside the body. MRI scanners use strong magnetic fields, magnetic field gradients, and rad ...

, he was diagnosed with an ACL sprain. In 82 games in 2023, Bleday hit .195/.310/.355 with 10 home runs and 27 RBIs. In 2024, Bleday became the Athletics' everyday center fielder, appearing in 159 games, hitting .243/.324/.437 with 20 home runs and 60 RBIs while leading the league in

putouts In baseball statistics, a putout (PO) is awarded to a defensive player who (generally while in secure possession of the ball) records an out (baseball), out by one of the following methods: * tag play, Tagging a runner with the ball when he is no ...

in center field. 2025 saw Bleday get the opening day start in center field for a second consecutive season, however after a rough start which saw him hitting .204 through his first 47 games, he was demoted to the minors with

Denzel Clarke Denzel Leslie Clarke (born May 1, 2000) is a Canadian professional baseball outfielder for the Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2025. Career Clarke attended Everest Academy in Thornhill, Ontario, Canada. He was ...

taking his place in center field for the time being.

References

External links

Vanderbilt Commodores bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bleday, J.J. 1997 births Living people All-American college baseball players Athletics (baseball) players Baseball players from Crawford County, Pennsylvania Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp players Jupiter Hammerheads players Las Vegas Aviators players Major League Baseball outfielders Mesa Solar Sox players Miami Marlins players Newport Gulls players Oakland Athletics players Orleans Firebirds players Pensacola Blue Wahoos players People from Danville, Pennsylvania Vanderbilt Commodores baseball players