The A's swapped reliever A.J. Puk for JJ Bleday in an exchange of former top draft picks before the season started. Fans in Oakland have watched as Puk has become the Miami Marlins new closer, winning three games and saving five en route to a 0.75 ERA with a 0.83 WHIP. Some have been left to wonder why the A's made this trade.
Well the piece the A's received, Bleday, looks to be turning a corner in Triple-A Las Vegas. The 25-year-old outfielder made his big-league debut last season with Miami and hit .167 across 204 at-bats, but he had an impressive 12.6% walk rate which led to a .277 OBP.
In the season's first month, Bleday has more walks than strikeouts (20 to 15) while batting .316 with a .429 on-base. In his minor league career, even in the lower minors, Bleday has never walked more than he's struck out in a month. He has also only hit over .300 one time, and that was in a 13-game stint in September of 2021 when he hit .311.
These are obviously positive trends for the future A's outfielder. He also ranked 7th in the Pacific Coast League with a 150 wRC+ (100 being league average).
Another trend in the right direction is that Bleday's strikeout rate sits at just 12.6% for the young season. Last year in Triple-A he struck out 27% of the time, so he has cut that in half and then some.
He also ended April on a bit of a hot streak going 11-for-24 (.458) with three homers and 11 rbi against Tacoma last week.
Yes, the PCL is a bit of a hitter's league, but that 150 wRC+ is adjusted for the league, and he's still been 50% better than league average. It's also pretty hard to fudge having more walks than strikeouts.
According to Brooks Baseball, he's not missing fastballs. In the month of April he whiffed on only 3.79% of the heaters he saw, along with 12.7% of breaking pitches and 15.63% of the off-speed offerings.
The next question with Bleday is going to be: Where does he fit? Esteury Ruiz has been a solid producer at the top of the order in Oakland and leads the team with a .414 batting average with runners in scoring position. Brent Rooker is the best hitter in baseball. Ramón Laureano and Seth Brown are solid veterans worthy of playing time. That's already too many outfielders for Bleday to see regular playing time.
Unfortunately, it may take a little time for Bleday to make his Oakland debut while the roster gets sorted out. A trade may have to occur, or an injury to open up a spot for regular playing time.
While the Marlins are ahead early in the "who won the trade?" game, if this turnaround turns out to be real, the A's will be just fine with the return they got.
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