Tragically, only 101 prospects can be included in the Top 101 list. But that doesn’t mean that others aren’t worthy of mention, just unworthy of ranking. Here are the next 10 prospects that didn’t quite make the cut, arranged alphabetically.
Miguel Bleis, OF, Boston Red Sox
Bleis put together a breakout campaign in the Florida complex in 2022, no mean feat, and seemed poised to ascend to the top tier of outfield prospects with a strong Carolina League stint in 2023. Instead, he scuffled through a rough month-plus in Salem before a shoulder injury ended his season. Salem is not a fun place to hit—see Roman Anthony’s slash line—but everything slid a bit for Bleis last year. His contact rates and swing decisions were marginally worse, though fine for his age and level, and perhaps even less regression than you’d expect for a teenager jumping from the complex to full-season. But he struggled badly to impact the ball. We can point you back to “season-ending shoulder injury,” but Bleis lacked physicality at the plate even when healthy, and while he has a loose swing with good barrel manipulation, there are a lot of moving parts that made it tougher from him to get Carolina League pitches on the sweet spot of the lumber. This should all come in time, but he lost important developmental reps last season, so we need to see him back on the field and making these adjustments before he’s back on the 101 proper. The upside hasn’t really changed much, though, as Bleis has flashed above-average hit and power tools with a good shot to stick in center field. —Jeffrey Paternostro
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