On JJ Bleday’s first full day on the Cincinnati Reds’ active big league roster, Terry Francona was asked how he was going to split playing time between JJ Bleday, Rece Hinds and Will Benson. Francona said that they’d just have to let it play out.
That afternoon, in an 8-3 loss to the Tigers on April 26, Bleday homered.
“I’m proud of the first game as a Red, being able to hit a home run,” Bleday said recently, looking back at his rapid ascent from Triple-A to the heart of the Reds’ order.
Now, he’s hitting .272 with a .953 OPS that ranks seventh in MLB (one spot above Juan Soto) among players with at least 150 plate appearances this year.
This rise from Bleday started with a solo homer off Keider Montero on April 26.
“That sparked a good fire in me to try to go out, do my best and prove myself and battle,” Bleday said. “I was down 0-2 (in the count). That gave me the confidence that I can compete in this league. You’ve just got to trust yourself. Go out, try to lock in and focus on putting up good at-bats. That’s what I’ve been able to do this season.”
In the Reds’ next game, with the team facing a lefty, Bleday wasn’t in the lineup (Nathaniel Lowe, still hitless vs. LHP this season, got the start that day). Bleday was back in the lineup on April 29. He has been in the lineup every single day since then, not even receiving a single day off.
During Bleday’s first week in the big leagues this year, he impressed the Reds with his ability to battle back when he was down in the count as well as his combination of power and a two-strike approach. He had several examples of that during a series in Pittsburgh as the calendar flipped to May, and the skills that Bleday was showing was keeping him in the lineup.
“Tito was giving me some more opportunities, and it led to me having the chance to have success,” Bleday said of this period of time. “It was the opportunity to earn the right to be an every day guy. That last game in Pittsburgh (a two-hit game) was another good benchmark. It’s tough to play there. I haven’t had much success there.”
The Reds’ offense was in a rut, but Bleday was a bright spot. He wasn’t necessarily hot yet, but he was doing enough.
The following week, he got hot as he delivered five hits, two homers and four RBI during a four-game series in Wrigley Field. Some of that production came against left-handed pitching, which showed Francona what Bleday could do against lefties.
“That whole Chicago series was a benchmark to keep things going, especially with the home runs,” Bleday said. “Getting on base was the success and the recurring theme. Then being able to slug a little bit. Being able to get on base consistently will lead to a lot of the good stuff that happens.”
By the end of the Cubs series, he was officially an every day player and the No. 2 hitter in the Reds’ lineup.
“(That showed me their) belief in the consistency of the at-bats,” Bleday said. “It didn’t really change anything. Just go out and do the same thing. Win each pitch. I know that’s cliche. I say a lot of cliche things. The simpler you’re thinking, the better you’re going to be out there on the field. I want to grind and get deep into counts.”
Bleday had started his player of the month campaign. It’s easy to forget that Bleday didn’t stay hot all month. He went 1-for-9 in the following series against the Astros. Bleday bounced back with a monster series against the Nationals in the middle of May. But that was followed by a stretch where he went 3-for-27 over a seven-game stretch in late May.
“It’s always a grind in those situations,” Bleday said. “That’s how the season goes. You’ll get hot. You’ll get cold. It’s about riding the wave. When you’re in those moments where you’re not getting the results you’re hoping for, if you can draw walks, move a guy over, do something somewhat reductive and try to wait it out and keep up the hard work and not feel bad for yourself — it’s easy to feel bad for yourself in those situations. You try to show up ready to compete and get the job done that day. That’ll help you get out of that.”
In 2025, when Bleday was with the Athletics, a slump snowballed and he ended up getting optioned to Triple-A.
This year, Bleday didn’t let that happen.
“Confidence is huge,” Francona said. “He’s confident. He should be. He has done it for long enough now that if he gets a couple of 0-fors, it doesn’t derail him. That’s big.”
Bleday was terrific to close out May, going nine for his last 20 with two homers and five RBI to close out the month. He ended up being named the NL Player of the Month.
He has stayed steady in June, recording a hit in all but two games and homering four times.
The 28-year-old Bleday still sees areas where he can get better.
‘I’m just trying to get ahead of the pitchers,” Bleday said. “They’re going to make adjustments quick. You got to do your best to make adjustments as well. It’s managing that cat and mouse game and trying to eliminate some strikeouts. It’s going to happen. It’s a part of the game. But you don’t want that to continue to snowball. My main target is to start game planning better, having an idea of how the at-bats are going mid-game and making those adjustments.”
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