Red Sox fans might want to familiarize themselves with Miguel Bleis, because the hype train is gaining stream despite the 18-year-old prospect likely being several years away from reaching Boston.
Bleis, an outfielder, is a vastly different player than Red Sox third baseman Rafael Devers. Whereas Devers, a proven offensive force at the major league level, is known more for his power and ability to attack all fields than his defense and baserunning, Bleis is considered a potential five-tool contributor.
Yet, there’s evidently a striking resemblance in their ability to impact the baseball, albeit from different sides of the plate.
“When the ball comes off the bat, it’s loud. It’s different. It’s sort of a right-handed version of Devers,” Tom Kotchman, manager of the Florida Complex League Red Sox, recently said of Bleis, according to a piece published last week by Baseball America. “He can mishit balls and they go out.
“Does he have holes? Yes. He’s a lot like a lot of other guys who need to see a lot of breaking balls and sliders, but there’s no doubting the sound that the ball makes with the bat. And there’s no doubting him as a runner and how he runs, because it’s easy.”
The Red Sox signed Bleis as an international free agent in January 2021, and he’s quickly asserted himself within Boston’s farm system, shooting up organizational prospect rankings and garnering national attention. MLB Pipeline listed Bleis as the Red Sox’s No. 5 prospect ahead of the 2023 season. Sox Prospects has him at No. 3, trailing only Marcelo Mayer and Triston Casas.
Again, comparing Bleis to Devers is by no means apples to apples, with position, handedness at the dish, size and overall skill set separating the two Dominican Republic products. But Bleis’ exit velocities in the FCL were eye-popping last season, offering hope he eventually could follow in Devers’ footsteps and become a homegrown superstar for Boston.
