Two years ago Miguel Bleis was the talk of the town in Fort Myers, a five-tool teenage phenom who had taken the Florida Complex League by storm. The Red Sox top international signing from the 2021 class was beginning to draw comparisons to Atlanta Braves superstar Ronald Acuña Jr., but last spring his progress came to a crashing halt when he underwent season-ending shoulder surgery weeks after debuting at Low-A Salem.

It’s been a long and difficult road back, but now Bleis is beginning to show he can be that player again.

Now 20 years old, Bleis has caught fire since the calendar turned to May and once again looks like one of the top prospects in the Red Sox system. The right-handed hitting outfielder came into Tuesday batting .312 with a .916 OPS this month with Salem, and he now has three home runs, 16 RBI and 14 stolen bases through his first 34 games this season.

Brian Abraham, the Red Sox director of player development, said the club is delighted by the progress Bleis has made.

“We’re really starting to see the Miguel Bleis we’d hoped for during that FCL season, and someone who is a little bit more advanced,” Abraham said.

Five-tool Red Sox prospect Miguel Bleis aiming for big comeback after lost season

Abraham said that when a player gets hurt and misses as much time as Bleis did, they can typically approach their recovery one of two ways. One is they can sulk and just focusing on getting healthy, and the other is they can maximize their time away by improving in other areas. Abraham said Bleis took the latter approach, adding weight, strength, bat speed and improving his mental approach so that once he was back on the field, he could be better than ever.

“In a lot of ways I almost think it was a blessing,” Abraham said. “Because he was able to add some really good weight, add some really good strength, and at a time when rather than playing games he was able to focus on a lot of the off-field areas that needed to be focused on.”

The club’s No. 4 ranked prospect according to MLB Pipeline, Bleis remains an all-around talent but is now also emerging as a role model for his teammates in Salem. Abraham called him a “natural leader” and someone the younger Latin players in Salem look to as an example for how to train and how to work.

He’s also made specific improvements in-season, recently demonstrating better pitch recognition and more ability to drive the baseball in the air.

“In the past he’s had a little bit of a tendency to drive the ball down into the ground despite being a really good hitter, so we’ve elevated his ball flight, his ability to hit the ball, drive the baseball in the air, and we’ve seen more power come, especially as of late,” Abraham said. “His ability to drive the ball into the gaps and over the wall, and it’s been really fun to see.”

The club hopes it’s just the beginning, and that his year away will ultimately prove a bump in the road towards an eventual rise to stardom.

Romero finally on track

Since being selected by the Red Sox in the first round of the 2022 MLB Draft — ahead of outfielder Roman Anthony, who has since emerged as one of the club’s ‘Big Three’ prospects — Mikey Romero’s career hasn’t been able to get off the ground. His first full season as a professional was derailed by a back injury that limited him to just 34 games, during which he batted .214 with no home runs and a .579 OPS.

Romero’s recovery extended well into the spring, but this week he finally returned to High-A Greenville with an opportunity to kickstart his career anew.

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Following a three-game rehab stint in Fort Myers, Romero made his High-A debut last Wednesday and in three games has gone 3 for 12 (.250) with a triple, a run scored, two RBI, a walk and five strikeouts. It’s obviously far too small a sample size to draw any conclusions, but Abraham said Romero looks and feels great and they’re happy to see him back on track.

“We’re really excited about the progress he’s made,” Abraham said. “We’ll balance playing time for him at the start, continue to focus on strength training because of the back injury last year, and making sure that he continues to build up that foundation for the long haul.”

Injury updates

Two notable Red Sox pitching prospects in the lower minors are currently sidelined due to injury. Right-hander David Sandlin, the club’s No. 14 prospect who was acquired this spring in the John Schreiber trade, was recently placed on the injured list with forearm inflammation, though Abraham said he’s begun a throwing progression and isn’t expected to miss a lot of time.

Right-hander Yordanny Monegro, the club’s No. 15 prospect, has been built up slowly after reporting to camp behind in his throwing program. He is currently on a rehab assignment in Fort Myers and Abraham said he’ll hopefully report to Greenville after a few more outings.

Extra innings

Right-hander Luis Perales, Boston’s No. 9 prospect and one of two arms added to the 40-man roster last offseason as protection from the Rule 5 Draft, returned to the mound recently after missing two weeks due to side soreness. In five starts since his return on April 27 he’s posted a 2.10 ERA with 39 strikeouts in 21.1 innings against eight walks. … Yoeilin Cespedes, Boston’s No. 7 prospect and its top international signing in 2023, has been promoted from the Dominican Summer League to the Florida Complex League. He’s gone 8 for 28 (.286) with a grand slam, five doubles, five runs scored, 11 RBI and four walks through his first eight games. … Abraham highlighted fellow 2023 international signee and No. 13 ranked prospect Franklin Arias as someone who has raised his stock. The 18-year-old shortstop is regarded as a plus defender who has also shown off improved bat speed and ball flight data in Fort Myers. … Kristian Campbell, who was drafted last summer with the compensatory fourth-round draft pick acquired after losing Xander Bogaerts to free agency, has quickly emerged as one of Greenville’s top hitters. The former Georgia Tech infielder currently ranks among the team leaders in hits (30), runs (19), doubles (9), home runs (6), RBI (20), walks (18) and OPS (.943). … Keep an eye on Salem left-hander Jojo Ingrassia, who has gotten off to an excellent start to his pro career. A 14th round pick out of Cal State Fullerton last summer, the 21-year-old is striking out nearly two batters an inning (43 strikeouts in 24.2 innings) while boasting a 1.46 ERA through his first 11 appearances.