Red Sox promote OF prospect Miguel Bleis to Double-A Portland

The Red Sox have promoted outfield prospect and former top international signing Miguel Bleis from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland, as was first reported by Andrew Parker of Beyond the Monster.

Bleis, 21, is currently ranked by Baseball America as Boston’s No. 20 prospect, while MLB Pipeline has him at No. 12 and SoxProspects.com has him at No. 13 in the system. The right-handed hitter got his season off to a somewhat late start due to a quad injury, but batted .226/.314/.422 with 15 doubles, one triple, a team-leading 13 home runs and 41 RBIs, 48 runs scored, 20 stolen bases, 35 walks, and 75 strikeouts in 77 games (325 plate appearances) for Greenville. That includes a .247/.327/.466 slash line against right-handed pitching and a .156/.270/.266 slash line against left-handed pitching.

Among 71 qualified South Atlantic League hitters entering play Friday, Bleis notably ranks first in pull rate (62.6 percent), second in fly ball rate (46.3 percent), ninth in isolated power (.195), 14th in slugging percentage, 23rd in OPS (.736), 24th in wOBA (.343), and 29th in strikeout rate (23.1 percent) and wRC+ (113), per FanGraphs.

Defensively, Bleis saw playing time at all three outfield spots with Greenville this season. The athletic 6-foot-2, 205-pounder made 37 starts in right field, 30 starts in center field, and four starts in left field, recording five assists (all from center) and committing two errors in 137 total chances. He also made six starts at DH.

Hailing from the Dominican Republic, Bleis received the largest bonus ($1.5 million) of any international free agent the Red Sox signed in 2021. The San Pedro de Macorís native was once viewed as a consensus top-100 prospect after dominating the rookie-level Florida Complex League in 2022. Since undergoing season-ending left shoulder surgery in June 2023, however, he has struggled to produce consistent results, despite occasionally showing flashes of his five-tool potential.

In Portland, Bleis figures to provide the Sea Dogs with additional outfield help after the Red Sox traded James Tibbs III and Zach Ehrhard to the Dodgers for right-hander Dustin May on Thursday. This promotion is also noteworthy because Bleis can become eligible for this winter’s Rule 5 Draft, so how he fares in his first stint at the Double-A level could go a long way in determining if he is worthy of being added to Boston’s 40-man roster by the November protection deadline.