Red Sox top prospect Arias leading Triple-A circuit in hitting since his promotion
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Green Day struck gold in 2004 with the iconic track, “Wake Me Up When September Ends.” Franklin Arias wasn’t even born yet when it was released, but the song’s title is a refrain many Triple-A hurlers are likely feeling when facing the Red Sox top prospect to begin the season's final month.
Arias collected two more hits and RBIs for Triple-A Worcester in its 7-4 win over Lehigh Valley at Coca-Cola Park on Thursday night, giving him six multihit performances in seven games this month. It’s been a near nonstop hit barrage for the 20-year-old since his July 25 promotion as his .341 average is tied for tops in the International League over that span, all despite being the circuit’s youngest hitter.
Both of Arias’ hits Thursday came off pitchers (Alan Rangel, Tucker Davidson) with big league experience under their belts. By plating a pair of runs, the right-handed-hitting shortstop has now collected at least one RBI in five of his past six games, giving him 83 on the year across two levels, the most among all Red Sox Minor Leaguers.
Across the board, Arias has been the organization’s premier standout in 2026. In addition to RBIs, here are the other categories he paces the way in:
Hits (137)
Extra-base hits (52)
Total bases (236)
Home runs (23)
Slugging percentage (.561)
wRC+ (147)
April was the month of Franklin Arias. It’s hard to say any of the ones that followed were too shabby either, with an All-Star Futures Game selection in July the cherry on top of a summer that has seen the Venezuela native ascend to No. 3 overall on MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects list.
The Red Sox continue to give Arias the majority of his reps defensively at shortstop, but he has begun to see an increased frequency of starts at second base as he nears Boston. For all of the well-merited excitement around his hit tool, his 60-grade glove also ties for tops among ranked prospects in the system and his above-average arm strength helps him at either middle-infield spot.
But with just 15 games remaining in the Major League regular season, that first taste of the big leagues might be held off until 2027. As MLB.com's Red Sox beat writer Ian Browne pointed out in a recent Reddit AMA, the crunch of the schedule and the recent return to full health of other infield options has narrowed Arias’ window:
“It doesn't look that way,” said Browne in response to whether Arias could be promoted. “I feel like they would have called him up already. There are only 15 games left. Trevor Story looks like he can hold down shortstop with help from Nick Sogard and Andruw Monasterio. I think they want to be careful about not rushing Arias. That said, if someone's health takes a downward turn, you never know.”