The Red Sox are promoting top outfield prospect Miguel Bleis from Low-A Salem to High-A Greenville, as was first reported by The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier.
Bleis, 20, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 4 prospect in Boston’s farm system. The right-handed hitter batted .257/.349/.398 with 10 doubles, one triple, four home runs, 22 RBIs, 24 runs scored, 16 stolen bases, 21 walks, and 38 strikeouts over 43 games (195 plate appearances) for Salem to begin the 2024 season.
After undergoing season-ending surgery to repair a left shoulder subluxation last summer, Bleis unsurprisingly got off to a slow start in his return to Salem this spring. He struggled to a .573 OPS through the end of April before turning a corner offensively in May by slashing .318/.408/.506. He then missed some time at the beginning of the month while recovering from a root canal but extended his hitting streak to 16 games and on-base streak to 25 games upon returning to action last week.
Among 79 qualified hitters in the Carolina League to this point in the year, Bleis ranks 18th in strikeout rate (19.5 percent), 25th in batting average, 30th in on-base percentage, 26th in slugging percentage and OPS (.747), 24th in isolated power (.140), fourth in line-drive rate (30.2 percent), and 27th in swinging-strike rate (10.9 percent) and wRC+ (121), per FanGraphs.
Defensively, Bleis saw the majority of his playing time in Salem this season come in center field. The 6-foot-2, 203-pounder logged 272 innings in center while committing two errors and recording two outfield assists. He also started six games in right field, where notched an additional assist, and six at designated hitter.
Bleis, who just turned 20 in March, originally signed with the Red Sox for $1.5 million as a highly-touted international free agent coming out of the Dominican Republic in January 2021. The San Pedro de Macoris native made his professional debut in the Dominican Summer League that July and followed that by turning heads in the 2022 Florida Complex League.
On the heels of an exciting stateside debut, Bleis came into the 2023 campaign ranked by Baseball America as the No. 88 prospect in the sport. He had a tough time of things in his first go-around with Salem and slashed .230/.282/.325 over 31 games before straining his shoulder and ultimately going under the knife last June.
As such, Bleis saw his prospect stock fall somewhat over the winter but is starting to gain some of it back. A new challenge in the form of a promotion to Greenville, where he will be tasked with facing more advanced pitching, could help him further elevate his profile and get back on top-100 prospects lists.
In making the jump from Salem, Bleis is now slated to join an outfield mix in Greenville that — at the moment — includes the likes of Allan Castro, Juan Chacon, Jhostynxon Garcia, Bryan Gonzalez, Eduardo Lopez, and Miguel Ugueto, among others. He will likely make his High-A debut in the Drive’s upcoming series against the Asheville Tourists at Fluor Field this week.
(Picture of Miguel Bleis: Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images)
Blogging the Red Sox 