Red Sox Top Prospects Voting: Miguel Bleis can make a big leap

While the top half of our community Red Sox top prospects list was dominated by offense, it’s been pitchers that have been all over the place in this second half of this list. Leading up to this latest vote, pitchers had won each of the last five votes and six of the last seven. Well, we’re back to the offense with the 16th spot, and we head to the lower levels to get there. Winning the last round of votes with 38 percent of the total, outfielder Miguel Bleis takes the 16th spot on our list.

The Red Sox have a history over the last 20 years or so being very aggressive on the international market and finding some great players there. Right now, for instance, they are anchored by Rafael Devers and Xander Bogaerts, both of whom were big bonus signings from Latin America. Due to a changing system and penalties, they haven’t been as prolific in these international signing periods, but Bleis represents one of their biggest signings of the last decade. Receiving $1.5 million as the team’s top signing in the 2020-2021 signing period, he was their biggest signing since 2017 when they signed Daniel Flores, who tragically passed away shortly after, and Danny Diaz, who signed for $100,000 more than Bleis. Those are the only two to receive higher bonuses since 2014 when they signed Yoán Moncada, Rusney Castillo, and Anderson Espinoza.

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All of that served to put a little bit of a spotlight onto Bleis, at least to those who follow the system closely. He was the kind of player for whom the Red Sox have often been able to maximize their talent, and he had a strong showing and opened some eyes in the Dominican Summer League in 2021. It’s a small sample size as a 17-year-old, but he held his own in 39 games, hitting .252/.331/.420. He improved as the season went along, too, which is always something evaluators are looking out for in young players.

But when it comes to Bleis, it’s not really what he’s done that is getting people excited. It’s what he looks like he can be. He’s got all the tools to be a top prospect if he continues to develop, with plus raw power, a ton of athleticism, and a solid approach for someone his age. We are, of course, talking about a kid just turned 18 at the start of this month, so he’ll likely add some weight as he moves up the ladder, which could move him to a corner. But even with that in mind, the tools are loud enough to be a starter anywhere in the outfield, though that’s a long way away.

FanGraphs was high enough, however, to slot him in as the team’s sixth best prospect, even saying that some they talked to in the industry thought he could be as high as fourth. They also noted that he is the same age as current high school prospects, and with his scouting report he’d be a mid first round pick if he was in the pool.

We’re still not going to learn a ton about Bleis in the coming year unless the Red Sox are extremely aggressive and place him in full-season ball, which would be a surprising development. Instead, he’s likely to hang back in extended spring training after the other affiliates start and spend at least most of the coming season on the complex in the FCL. Patience is going to be required for Bleis, but in a few years time there’s a chance he could be near, or at, the top of this list.

Here is our list so far:

1. Triston Casas, 1B
2. Marcelo Mayer, SS
3. Nick Yorke, 2B
4. Jarren Duran, OF
5. Brayan Bello, RHP
6. Bryan Mata, RHP
7. Jeter Downs, 2B/SS
8. Blaze Jordan, 3B/1B
9. Jay Groome, LHP
10. Gilberto Jimenez, OF
11. Wilkelman Gonzalez, RHP
12. Connor Seabold, RHP
13. Brandon Walter, LHP
14. Josh Winckowski, RHP
15. Noah Song, RHP
16. Miguel Bleis, OF

Now, you can head down into the comments and vote for the number 17 prospect. As a reminder, to do this you go down below and find the comment from me corresponding with the player for whom you’d like to vote. When you find said player, just click the “rec” button, and that will count your vote. To do this, you will need to be logged in as a member of the site. If you’d like to vote for a player who is not listed, just leave a comment saying “Vote for ___ here” and I’ll rec the comment to count your vote. We encourage discussion, of course, but please don’t comment under specific players’ names. Instead, scroll to the bottom to start a new comment thread in order to keep the players at the top of the comment section. Until next time...