Red Sox No. 2 prospect Arias sets tone with second Double-A homer of year, then builds on it
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As the saying goes, "It's not how you start but how you finish."
True enough, but opening a season like Franklin Arias has isn't too bad either.
Boston's No. 2 prospect homered for the second straight game, clubbing a leadoff jack as part of a big offensive performance in Double-A Portland's 8-6 win over Altoona on Wednesday night at PNG Field.
Arias reached base four times and scored four runs atop the Sea Dogs' lineup, adding another impressive stat line to his early-season hot streak.
MLB's No. 26 prospect needed just two pitches to get his night rolling, yanking a down-and-in 0-1 pitch over the fence in left-center field for his second roundtripper in four at-bats. Arias didn't leave the yard until much later last year, going deep for High-A Greenville in his 90th at-bat on May 4.
Arias added a single to right in his next at-bat in the third, walked twice and swiped his first bag of the season. The Venezuela native has reached safely in each of his first eight games this year and leads the Minors in hitting after posting a .542/.613/.875 slash line in his first 31 plate appearances, including five multihit efforts.
Signed as an international free agent in 2023, Arias has consistently been one of the top hitters at each stop he's made, despite often facing players who are several years older than him. The righty-swinging shortstop put together a strong first full-season campaign last year, moving from Single-A Salem to Greenville before a late-season cameo with Portland.
Arias batted .278 with 36 extra-base hits, 66 RBIs and scored 62 runs across three levels in 2025 -- numbers that don't necessarily jump out at first blush but are all the more impressive considering he played the entire season as a teenager.
He ranked second among teenaged full-season qualifiers in strikeout rate (10 percent) and swinging-strike percentage (5 percent), both among the top portion of Minor League leaders regardless of age. Both Arias' line-drive rate (21.5 percent) and flyball rate (30.8 percent) provide optimism that as he continues to fill out and mature physically, he could be a consistent double-digit home run threat.
But the accolades don't end with his ever-improving bat.
Arias, considered one of the top defensive shortstops in the 2023 international class, has lived up to that billing as a pro. The 5-foot-11, 170-pounder possesses a good arm and solid range up the middle and to his right.
He played exceptional defense in 2025, committing just seven errors in 101 games at shortstop.