Intriguing Five-Tool Red Sox Prospect Had Clear Offseason Priority

High upside Boston Red Sox prospect Miguel Bleis feels he is positioned for a bounce-back season in 2024.

The way Bleis trained in the offseason is fueling that belief.

Bleis, who is ranked as the fifth-best prospect in the Red Sox farm system by MLB Pipeline, missed a majority of last season after undergoing left shoulder surgery in June. The significant injury changed how Bleis attacked the offseason, as the 20-year-old zeroed in on strengthening his body to better handle the grind of a season.

“It was a difficult year,” Bleis told MassLive’s Christopher Smith through translator Carlos Villoria Benítez at JetBlue Park. “There’s so many expectations when you’re a prospect and all the eyes are on you and you want to perform. So it was a little bit frustrating for me not to be able to compete the whole year. But at the same time, I see the positive side of it. I realized my body wasn’t strong enough. So that’s what I worked on during my rehab and offseason — to prepare my body to be able to compete for a full year here in the U.S. So now I feel like I’m in a better position than I was last year. And hopefully everything will go well this year.”

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The change in Bleis’ frame is noticeable due to the additional time he spent in the gym. The young outfielder is listed at 6-foot and 170 pounds, but he told Smith he now stands around 6-foot-2 and 203 pounds.

Bleis boasts a high ceiling because of his five-tool ability. Due to the shoulder injury, which Bleis said he dealt with for the first couple months of the season and could feel routinely “pop out” when he swung, he only showed his skillset in 31 games with Low-A Salem. He batted .230 with one home run, 16 RBIs and 11 stolen bases in 31 games.

Bleis believes the strength he gained in the offseason not only will help him stay healthy, but pay dividends when he steps into the batter’s box.

“I think when you gain weight and muscle, everything gets easier (with generating power),” Bleis told Smith. “When you don’t have that power, sometimes you tend to change your mechanics at the plate and you try to generate more power from other sources. So for me getting bigger, it definitely helps me to keep it simple.”