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Marlins Select Vanderbilt Slugger JJ Bleday With 4th Pick In MLB Draft

MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) – With a farm system full of pitching prospects, the Miami Marlins came into the MLB Draft with the plan of adding position players.

Miami snagged a great one with its first pick, drafting Vanderbilt outfielder JJ Bleday with fourth overall in the 2019 Major League Baseball Draft.

Bleday was the Southeastern Conference player of the year this season.

He has a quick, left-handed swing and leads Division I players in home runs with a school-record 26.

A finalist for the Golden Spikes Award, the 6-foot-3, 205-pound Bleday is hitting .351 and brings a 42-game on-base streak into next weekend's super regionals round of the NCAA Tournament.

(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

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