April was a torrid month for a lot of prospects. Many made their Major League debuts, signed record contracts and blossomed on the stage presented by a new season. But it was also the month of Franklin Arias and his enormous breakout. So why not have one more major moment for the road?
The Red Sox No. 2 prospect hammered a game-tying home run in the ninth inning of Double-A Portland’s eventual 9-6 loss to Somerset at TD Bank Ballpark on Thursday night, a proverbial cherry on top of an elite-level month’s worth of production.
There was the pair of three-game home run streaks. A walk-off home run in extras of a game he didn’t even start. A hot stretch in which he went 16-for-36.
All of it wrapped up with MLB’s No. 26 prospect ending the month atop the Eastern League in OPS (1.196), while ranking second in average (.375) and slugging percentage (.764) and inside the top five in hits (27), home runs (eight), RBIs (20), ISO (.389) and total bases (55). Half of his games were multihit performances and he drove in at least one run 12 times.
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Coming out of the gates swinging a hot bat has been nothing new for Arias. During his first month in the Dominican Summer League in 2023, he went 26-for-61 (.426) with an 1.017 OPS. He batted .314 in April last year, hitting his way from Single-A Salem to High-A Greenville by month’s end.
But the extra-base thump has decidedly turned the dial up a notch. He didn't hit his eighth homer until Game No. 113 last year, a mark he’s tied in 81 plate appearances across 20 contests this season.
Parse through Arias’ stats and there’s nearly no category in which he’s not finding success:
- 9-for-20 with three homers and 13 RBIs with RISP
- .400 AVG, 1.275 OPS vs. RHP, .318 AVG, 1.000 OPS vs. LHP
- OPS over 1.000 in each scenario of 0, 1 or 2 outs in an inning
- 1.628 OPS when ahead in the count; 1.003 OPS when behind
COMPLETE RED SOX PROSPECT COVERAGE
Arias is a gifted 20-year-old, one who is nearly four years younger than his average competitor in the Eastern League. He’s made tremendous gains with his bat speed and in finding the barrel more consistently, leading to louder -- and more impactful -- contact. None of that will change the next time he steps into the box beyond the fact the calendar reads May instead of April.
So what’s next?
“Continuing to get bigger and stronger, both to improve his on-field performance and to eventually handle the demands of a full 162-game season at a premium position -- especially given his age and opportunity for continued physical development,” Red Sox senior director of player development Brian Abraham told MLB.com’s Ian Browne earlier this month. “That added strength should translate to improved durability, more consistent defense and greater impact at the plate. With his work ethic, consistency and strong baseball instincts, there’s a lot of excitement about where he’s headed and the growth still to come.”