Marlins select outfielder J.J. Bleday fourth overall in 2019 MLB First-Year Player Draft

June 4th, 2019

MIAMI – The Miami Marlins tonight made three selections in the 2019 First-Year Player Draft, featuring outfielder J.J. Bleday from Vanderbilt University with the fourth overall pick. Miami also selected outfielder Kameron Misner from the University of Missouri with the 35th pick, and infielder Nasim Nuñez from Collins Hill HS in Suwanee, Ga., with the 46th selection.

Bleday, 21, is 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, and bats and throws left-handed. He is batting .327 (176x538) over his three-year career at Vanderbilt University. He has 26 doubles, two triples, 32 home runs, and 105 RBI in that time. As a junior this season, he is hitting .353 (85x241) through 62 games, with 75 runs scored, 13 doubles, a triple, 26 home runs, and 68 RBI. His 26 home runs set a Vanderbilt single-season school record and led Division-I Baseball entering the NCAA tournament, during which he has batted 3x11, with three runs scored, two doubles, an RBI, and four walks for the second-ranked Commodores.

He was rated by MLB.com as the best outfield prospect in the 2019 Draft. Bleday was named 2019 SEC Player of the Year, and is one of four finalists for the 2019 Golden Spikes Award, which is presented to the nation’s best amateur baseball player.

The Marlins selected Misner with the first pick in Competitive Balance Round A. Misner, 21, was rated by Baseball America as the sixth-best outfield prospect (26th overall). During his three years at Missouri, he has hit .301 (164x544) with 31 doubles, four triples, 21 home runs, 91 RBI, and 109 walks. This year, his junior season, he posted a .286 (59x206) average with 10 doubles, 10 home runs, 32 RBI, 54 walks and a .440 on-base percentage in 57 games.

Miami capped day one of the Draft with the selection of infielder Nasim Nuñez in the second round. He participated in the 2018 Perfect-Game All-American Classic and was featured in the MLB Breakthrough Series, a program focused on developing players on and off-the-field through seminars, mentorship, and scout evaluations. Nuñez, 18, is a switch-hitting shortstop and was rated by Baseball America as the 43rd overall prospect in the 2019 Draft.

The Draft resumes Tuesday with Rounds 3-10 beginning at 1 p.m. on MLB.com. For additional information on the 2019 Miami Marlins, visit Marlins.com.