Red Sox Top Prospect Takes Major Step Toward Path To Big Leagues With Promotion

Boston has high hopes for the budding star

Scott Neville | Jun 11, 2024

Shorebirds' Anderson De Los Santos (27) can't make the catch as Salem's Miguel Bleis (26) slides into third Tuesday, April 9, 2024, at Perdue Stadium in Salisbury, Maryland. / Lauren Roberts/Salisbury Daily Times /

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Boston Red Sox

Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow harped on how important it was to build for the future all offseason and cited a young prospect core as an excuse to punt on 2024 and use the season to get the team ready for future seasons.

While shortstop Marcelo Mayer, outfielder Roman Anthony and catcher Kyle Teel were the big three consistently mentioned -- they are not the only blue-chip prospects. Before those three took center stage, a highly promising outfielder made a name for himself in the lowest level of the stateside minors with constant comparisons to Ronald Acuna Jr.

After a season that was cut to just 31 games due to a season-ending shoulder injury in 2023, the toolsy 20-year-old has returned to action and is now one step closer to the big leagues.

"Outfielder Miguel Bleis has been promoted from Single-A Salem to High-A Greenville, according to a major league source," The Boston Globe's Alex Speier reported Monday.

Bleis hit .257 with 15 extra-base hits including four home runs, 22 RBIs and a .747 OPS in 43 games for the Salem Red Sox to open the season.

While his numbers do not jump off the page, a slow start and some unlucky results with hard-hit balls have dampened his production. Still, he's been red-hot as of late.

"Over his last 24 games dating to May 3, Bleis hit .313/.400/.490 with 4 homers and 9 steals while posting an 11 percent walk rate and 21 percent strikeout rate," Speier wrote.

It was only a matter of time before the five-tool talent started to prove that he's a lot better than the average Single-A player -- and he'll continue to do so until his next promotion.

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Published Jun 11, 2024

SCOTT NEVILLE

Scott Neville covers the Boston Red Sox for Sports Illustrated's new page "Inside The Red Sox." Before starting "Inside The Red Sox", Neville attended Merrimack College, where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media with a minor in Marketing. Neville spent all four years with Merrimack's radio station WMCK, where he grew as a radio/podcast host and producer. His propensity for being in front of a microphone eventually expanded to film, where he produced multiple short films alongside his then-roommate and current co-worker Stephen Mottram. On a journey that began as a way to receive easy credits via film classes, he received a call from "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" star Charlie Day. Day advised him to make a feature-length film, which he completed his senior year. While writing the film, Neville completed an internship for United Way as part of their NFL Partnership Program. Neville ran the blog for a team of interns and hosted an internet show called "United Way's NFL Partnership Series" where he interviewed NFL alumni. After college Neville wrote for SB Nation's "Over The Monster," a Red Sox sister site of the flagship brand. His work would eventually lead him to a job as a content producer with NESN, where he would cover all sports. After developing as a writer with the top regional network in the world, he was given the opportunity to join the Sports Illustrated Media Group in his current endeavor as the publisher of "Inside The Red Sox." The successful launch and quick rise of "Inside The Red Sox" led to Neville joining the Baseball Essential ownership group, a national baseball site under SIMG. Follow him on Twitter: @ScottNeville46 Email: nevilles@merrimack.edu