First base prospect Alex Binelas has been in a nice groove for Double-A Reading lately. It was almost a year ago when the Phillies signed him as a free agent after he had been given his release by the Boston Red Sox. When he was signed, the Phillies assigned him to Double-A Reading, a drop from his Triple-A status with the Sox. They also immediately placed him on the IL, but the nature of the injury was never disclosed. What is known is that he wasn’t activated until August, meaning that he missed nearly three months of playing time.
Believe it or not, sometimes a player on the IL isn’t really injured; especially in the minors. Major League Baseball has cracked down on this, but it still happens. It wasn’t that long ago that the Phillies were partial to using shin splints or the ever popular turf toe as phantom injuries. A running joke was that they had an internationally renowned, but unpublicized turf toe treatment center in Clearwater because every player with turf toe turned up on one of the fields at the Phillies complex in Clearwater working with coaches.
Binelas hit 25 home runs in 2022 when he split the season between the South Atlantic League and the Eastern League and followed that up with 16 home runs in 82 games at Double-A Portland in 2023. Since then though he hit nine home runs in 88 Double-A games and three Triple-A games in 2024 and hit 10 home runs in Double-A and Triple-A last season.
This season, Binelas has already hit nine home runs for Reading, including hitting two in one game a couple of weeks ago at Somerset. It was his first multi-home run game in almost three seasons with his last coming as a member of the Portland Sea Dogs, ironically when they were hosting Reading.
Background and Amateur Career
Alex Binelas grew up in Oak Creek, Wisconsin and became one of the most decorated prep players in the state during his time at Oak Creek High School. He put up massive offensive numbers and finished as the school’s all-time leader in several categories including batting average, hits, RBI, runs scored, slugging percentage, and stolen bases. He was a four-time First Team All-State selection and quickly developed a reputation as one of the better left-handed power hitters in the Midwest. The Washington Nationals selected him in the 35th round of the 2018 MLB Draft, but he chose to attend the University of Louisville instead.
At Louisville, Binelas immediately established himself as a high-end offensive prospect. As a freshman in 2019, he hit .291 with 14 home runs and 59 RBI in 59 games while posting a .994 OPS. He earned Freshman All-American honors and later played for USA Baseball’s Collegiate National Team. Scouts loved the combination of strength, bat speed, and all-fields power.
His sophomore season in 2020 was interrupted almost immediately by a broken hamate bone in his right hand that required surgery. Hamate injuries are notoriously tricky for hitters because they can sap power and bat speed for months after recovery. The COVID-shortened season further complicated his development because he lost critical at-bats during an important stage of his baseball development.
Binelas entered the 2021 season viewed by some evaluators as a possible first-round pick. Instead, the year became a roller coaster. He started terribly at the plate and at one point looked completely out of rhythm offensively. Over his first several weeks, his timing drifted and his strikeout issues became more noticeable. Once he settled in, the raw power returned in a huge way. He finished the year batting .256/.348/.621 with 19 home runs and 63 RBI in 50 games. During the second half of the season, he was one of the hottest hitters in college baseball and reminded scouts why he had generated early first-round buzz.
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MLB Draft Information
The Milwaukee Brewers selected Binelas in the third round of the 2021 MLB Draft with the 86th overall pick. He signed for a reported $700,000 bonus. Many evaluators believed the Brewers were getting first-round caliber power talent at a discount because of concerns surrounding his defense and swing-and-miss tendencies.
Later that year, the Brewers traded Binelas to the Boston Red Sox as part of the Hunter Renfroe deal. The trade significantly boosted his national profile because Boston viewed him as one of the more intriguing power bats in its farm system.
Minor League Performance
Binelas made an immediate impact in his professional debut during the 2021 season. Between the Arizona Complex League and Low-A Carolina, he hit .309/.390/.583 with nine home runs in just 36 games. The power translated instantly against professional pitching and evaluators praised the authority of his contact.
Across his minor league career through 2026, Binelas has generally shown the same offensive profile that scouts projected in college. He has displayed legitimate plus raw power with the ability to drive the ball to all fields. His overall minor league line entering 2026 sat at .241/.335/.449/.784 with 69 home runs.
The biggest offensive strength in Binelas’ profile is his power production. Scouts have long graded his raw power as plus or better, with some giving it near top-of-the-scale marks. He produces strong exit velocities and generates natural loft in his swing. There are reports of him producing exit velocities above 110 mph during his college career, which is elite territory, especially for amateur hitters.
His approach at the plate is somewhat more advanced than many pure power hitters. Binelas generally shows patience and is willing to take walks. His minor league on-base percentages have remained respectable because he does not completely sell out for power.
The biggest concern has always been contact consistency. There is length in his swing and he can struggle against elevated velocity. When his timing drifts, the strikeouts can pile up quickly and prolonged slumps have occasionally followed. Several scouting reports noted that he misses hittable pitches within the strike zone more often than teams would like from a corner bat.
Sabermetrically, Binelas fits the modern “three true outcomes” mold to some degree. His isolated power numbers have consistently been strong, reflecting his home run ability and extra-base hit production. His walk rates are generally solid for a slugger, but his strikeout rates have remained elevated throughout both college and pro ball. That combination creates volatility in his offensive profile. When he is locked in, he looks like a middle-of-the-order run producer. When the swing gets long, advanced pitching can exploit holes up in the zone.
Defense and Positional Outlook
Defensively, Binelas has faced questions throughout his career. He originally played third base at Louisville, but many evaluators believed his actions, footwork, and throwing mechanics were not ideal for the position. During his draft year, Louisville moved him across the diamond to first base.
Most scouts now view first base as his most likely long-term defensive home. Some organizations have experimented with him in corner outfield spots because he is a decent athlete for his size (6’2″, 225 pounds), but defense is unlikely to be the carrying tool in his profile.
His defensive metrics in the minors have generally reflected an average to below-average defender at the corner infield spots. He does not project as a standout glove player, so his path to the majors depends heavily on how much impact he provides offensively. That places additional pressure on the bat because first base is one of the most offense-driven positions in baseball.
Injuries and Development
The most significant injury of Binelas’ career was the hamate injury in 2020. Hamate surgeries can linger longer than expected for hitters because grip strength and power sometimes take time to fully return. Some evaluators believed his rough start in 2021 may have partially stemmed from lingering effects and disrupted development after losing so much game action during the pandemic-shortened season.
To his credit, he rebounded strongly during the second half of that 2021 season and restored much of his prospect value. As a pro, Binelas has not played 100 games in a season since 2022 and has been on the IL in each of the past two seasons with undisclosed injuries.
Overall Evaluation
Binelas remains an intriguing power-hitting prospect because left-handed hitters with legitimate plus raw power are always valuable. There is real upside if the hit tool reaches an average level. At his best, he profiles as a run-producing corner bat capable of hitting 25 or more home runs annually.
The challenge is that the margin for error is relatively thin. Because he is probably limited defensively to first base, the bat has to carry the profile. His future will likely depend on whether he can make enough contact against upper-level pitching while maintaining the patience and power that made him a high-profile draft prospect in the first place.
Binelas turns 26 just after Memorial Day, so a move to Triple-A Lehigh Valley should be right around the corner. After playing in over 300 games at Double-A, he’s not going to learn or develop much more there than he already has.
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