JJ Bleday
- Cincinnati’s roster as it stands starts at RF · 499 PA · 0.9 WAR in the role
- Trade read Likely available: CIN projects to miss the playoffs (16% odds) and he has 2 years of control left: a natural trade candidate.
Hitting · 2026 percentiles
vs. MLB hitters with 300+ PA · 542 PA
Platoon splits · swing path
By pitcher handedness
| vs | PA | wOBA | xwOBA | K% | BB% | Chase | Decisions | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LHP | 153 | .292 | .295 | 24% | 11% | 26% | +1.30 | −0.95 |
| RHP | 389 | .342 | .362 | 22% | 14% | 22% | +1.72 | +0.41 |
- Attack angle
- 14.1° (54% in 5–20°)
- Attack direction
- −9.5°
- Swing length
- 7.3 ft
- Fast-swing rate
- 29%
- Pull-air %
- 30.1%
- Hard-hit %
- 40.1%
- Slash · wRC+
- .217/.324/.416 · 103
Zone map · 2026
Where he does damage, and where to pitch him
Does the most damage up and in (+4.4 vs. league per 100; 2.0 standard errors on 78 pitches, inside the noise for the best of nine cells).
Weakest middle-away (−2.8), but only 1.4 standard errors from average on 127 pitches: no in-zone spot to attack yet.
Runs per 100 pitches vs. an average LHB: better · worse. Catcher’s view · 1,974 pitches · faded cells are within one standard error of average. A spot is called only when it is farther from average than the best or worst of nine average cells gets 95% of the time (set from the league’s own pitches: about 3 standard errors above, 2 below).
Most similar hitters
Swings like Bleday: bat path, contact quality and approach
| Similarity | Player | xwOBA | ’26 WAR | ’27 proj | 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63 | Wyatt Langford TEX · ’01 | .319 | 2.7 | 3.0 | Arb |
| 60 | Michael Conforto CHC · ’93 | .333 | 0.8 | −0.1 | Free agent |
| 57 | Tyler O'Neill BAL · ’95 | .307 | 0.5 | 0.5 | Signed $16.5M |
| 55 | Miguel Vargas CWS · ’99 | .379 | 5.3 | 2.5 | Arb |
| 54 | Spencer Torkelson DET · ’99 | .316 | 1.2 | 1.3 | Arb |
Nearest neighbours on bat speed, swing length, attack angle, squared-up and blast rates, EV90, barrels, pull-air, chase, zone contact, K% and BB%. 2026 regulars only.
Fielding
2027 rating at every position he can play · OAA by position · range by direction · tools. Same engine as the Fielding Lab and the Winter Plan.
| Season | Pos | OAA | Range | Arm, DP | Runs | Batters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | RF | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 301 |
| 2026 | LF | −2 | −2 | −0.4 | −2.4 | 4,363 |
| 2025 | LF | −2 | −2 | +0.1 | −1.9 | 416 |
| 2025 | RF | −1 | 0 | +0.3 | +0.3 | 724 |
| 2025 | CF | −6 | −5 | +0.6 | −4.4 | 1,981 |
| 2024 | CF | −3 | −3 | +3.1 | +0.1 | 5,586 |
| 2023 | RF | −1 | −1 | +0.2 | −0.8 | 342 |
| 2023 | CF | −2 | −1 | +0.6 | −0.4 | 1,057 |
| 2023 | LF | −1 | −1 | +0.8 | −0.2 | 1,390 |
Runs = range plus his arm and double-play runs spread over his positions by outs (Fielding Run Value, from 2023): what the rating counts.
At LF in 2026, the biggest loss came toward 3B line (−2 outs): a coaching target, though he plays RF in 2027.
Tools (percentile; arm among CFs)| Play | Made | Chances | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| ★★★★★ | 0 | 27 | 0% |
| ★★★★ | 1 | 4 | 25% |
| ★★★ | 3 | 8 | 38% |
| ★★ | 16 | 17 | 94% |
| ★ | 24 | 26 | 92% |
| Season | Zone | Balls | Outs vs. exp. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | LF | 411 | −6.7 |
| 2025 | RF | 73 | +0.4 |
| 2025 | LF | 44 | −3.6 |
| 2025 | CF | 234 | −5.1 |
| 2024 | CF | 625 | −11.5 |
The zone rating counts every ball hit to his part of the field while he played there, his club’s positioning included; Savant OAA uses his actual starting spot and is the better individual grade. They agree best in the outfield. See the model card.
Contract & projection
Club control (RosterResource) · Keystone projected WAR
* projected arbitration or minimum salary. Contract Studio →
Minor leagues
MLB Stats API · public box-score data
| SeasonLevel | Level | Team | Age | G | PA / IP | PA / IP ·Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026AAA | AAA | Louisville Bats | 28 | 24 | 104 PA | 104 PA · .341/.462/.659 · 6 HR · 22.1% K · 17.3% BB |
| 2025AAA | AAA | Las Vegas Aviators | 27 | 28 | 132 PA | 132 PA · .353/.409/.571 · 6 HR · 18.9% K · 9.1% BB |
ABS challenges · 2026
Baseball Savant