Salem Manager Liam Carroll on Miguel Bleis' Return to Red Sox Prospect Prominence
Red Sox Lo-A manager spoke to the Pesky Report on the top Red Sox prospect ahead of his promotion to Hi-A Greenville.
After checking a lot of developmental boxes to start 2024, Red Sox outfield prospect Miguel Bleis earned a promotion from Lo-A Salem to Hi-A Greenville earlier this week.
The prospect shine for Bleis—currently the 5th-ranked prospect in the Red Sox system according to SoxProspects.com—has returned in 2024 after wearing off in 2023 due to a major shoulder injury that required season-ending surgery.
Bleis hit .257 with four homers, 10 doubles, one triple, 24 runs, 22 RBI with 21 walks, 16 stolen bases, .746 OPS and 121 wRC+ along with strong outfield defense for Salem.
On this week’s Red Sox MiLB Talk episode of The Pesky Report podcast, Red Sox Salem manager Liam Carroll spoke to the crew about numerous topics, but talked at length about the transformation in Bleis this year.
At the time of the podcast recording Monday night, the news of Bleis getting the bump to Greenville had been reported first by Alex Speier of the Boston Globe and then others but not officially announced by the team, so Carroll could not comment on the promotion itself.
However, he was effusive in his praise of the improvements he’s seen both physically and professionally from Bleis since the beginning of 2023.
“I don’t think it’s fair to ever call an injury a blessing in disguise, but there were some opportunities I think created out of that, as he spent so much time down in Florida and rubbed shoulders with players higher up in the system and in the big leagues going through the same thing he was going through,” Carroll said.
Bleis returned from his injury as a “much more physical player,” Carrol said, as evidenced by the 30+ pounds of muscle he added during his rehab.
“We see players who get injured, and they don’t want to invest in themselves as athletes,” Carroll said. “But the weight room aspect, and the diet aspect, go hand-in-hand. But seeing him at the end of last year and then again at the beginning of this year…dude got physical.”
The growth in Bleis physically translated into growth on the field as well. Carroll noted that a few weeks ago, Bleis turned around a 100 mph fastball in a game with a 112 mph exit velocity. But the time away also contributed to a growing maturity in Bleis.
“He’s so competitive, and he’s a more mature version of himself this year, channeling that competitive nature,” Carroll added. “In our game [on Sunday], he had a big knock in the 8th inning to break a tie. He’d had a rough day. And I’m not sure the Miguel that we saw last year at the beginning wants that extra at-bat late in games, or he might carry over the poor at-bats to the last at-bat. But he didn’t. He got into a two-strike count and hit an absolute laser beam the other way.”
As a clubhouse leader, Carroll said Bleis is still finding his own way. He can envisage Bleis as a more vocal leader for a clubhouse as he learns more English. But one area Carroll sees definitively with Bleis right now is the way he carries the “superstar” prospect label that has been tossed on him.
“I think he handles that piece well,” Carroll said. “That must be quite difficult because a lot of people have said—and you see it all over the Internet—superstar [in regards to Bleis’ talent]. It’s difficult to carry on the shoulders of such a young man. But I think he’s gonna handle it just fine.”
Bleis went 0-for-5 with two strikeouts in his Greenville debut on Tuesday.
If you’re interested in more on the Red Sox minor league system, I’m joined each week on The Pesky Report by Derrik Maguire and Hunter Noll to talk all things Red Sox prospects. Listen and subscribe to The Pesky Report here.
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