Five Red Sox prospects putting it all on the line in 2025
With Spring Training getting moving, there’s a lot of initial excitement. Finally! Baseball! Our long national nightmare is over! Within a week, the exhibition games lose their luster, and their meaningless nature can turn things into something of a slog. But fear not, there are plenty of interesting storylines to entertain yourself with. There are plenty of minor leaguers who have plenty riding on their performances this season and we’ll get a chance to give some of them a look this Spring.
Blaze Jordan- 1B/3B
Age: 22
SoxProspects rank: #27
2024 stats: .261/.305/.388, 22 2B, 7 HR, 61 RBI, 18 BB/46 K, 380 PA (AA)
Blaze Jordan went viral for his prodigious home runs as a thirteen-year-old on Youtube, so it might surprise you to learn that he wasn’t much of a power hitter in 2024. He improved his fitness and conditioning which helped his defense take a step forward, particularly at first base, and he made more contact with the ball. Unfortunately, a broken finger cost the Mississippi native quite a bit of momentum and his offensive numbers suffered, dropping from a solid .832 OPS in 2023 to .692. If healthy, we’ll see if Jordan can find a way to combine his latent power with the bat-to-ball gains he’s shown.
Miguel Bleis- OF
Age: 21
SoxProspects rank: #6
2024 stats: .221/.303./354, 16 2B, 11 HR, 47 RBI, 38 SB, 39 BB/92 K (A+/A)
There was a time that Miguel Bleis was a regular on national top 100 lists, so captivating is his level of talent. While the potential is very much still there, the performance hasn’t been. His age twenty season was a mixed bag. Bleis played reasonably well at Salem (.257/.349/.398, 21 BB/38 K, 16 SB) but a promotion to High-A saw the Dominican outfielder deal with injuries and underperformance struggling to an uninspiring .191/.265/.319 line the rest of the way. The tools are all there, but Bleis needs to take a step forward this year to show he still has a high ceiling.
Nazzan Zanetello- SS
Age: 19
SoxProspects rank: #33
2024 stats: .157/.279/.279
Athletic but raw teenager alternated between the IL and struggling to a .533 OPS over 345 PA. He struck out 151 times, just under 44% of trips to the plate while looking generally lost in all aspects of the game. The St. Louis native already lost quite a bit of his luster with his performance, but there’s still time to reverse or at least minimize the damage if he can show he’s coachable.
Nathan Hickey- C/1B
Age: 25
SoxProspects rank: #48
2024 stats: .209/.350/.382, 25 2B, 13 HR, 63 RBI, 81 BB/142 K, 471 PA (AAA/AA)
It was a challenging season for Hickey who saw his bat and glove falter in Triple-A, resulting a demotion towards the end of the season. While he possesses a good eye and has a smart approach and solid power in his bat, the defense just hasn’t come along behind the plate. It’s probably time for him to move to first base full-time so he can focus on his bat. This could be his last chance to show he can be a big-league hitter.
Bryan Mata- RHP
Age: 25
SoxProspects rank: #56
2024 stats: 22.2 IP, 4.37 ERA, 1.412 WHIP, 9 BB/20 K, 1 HR
Bryan Mata goes all the way back to the Dave Dombrowski days of the Boston Red Sox having made his organizational debut in 2016 at the age of 17. At times electric, the Venezuelan righty pitched in the 2018 Futures Game but that was probably the highlight of his career to date. He simply hasn’t been able to stay healthy. The Red Sox dropped Mata off the 40-man but quickly brought him back on a minor league contract for the 2025 season. This is probably his last chance. Everything is on the line.
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