Franklin Arias broke out in a major way this season, fueled by a power surge at the plate. That hasn’t slowed down upon his arrival at Triple-A, nor when he vaulted to the No. 3 spot in MLB Pipeline's overall rankings.
Just a year after Roman Anthony held the top spot, Boston has another impressive bat among the top five prospects in the sport. And Arias capitalized on that momentum with a homer on a three-hit night in Worcester’s 10-3 win over Buffalo at Polar Park.
Arias finished a triple shy of the cycle with his 23rd homer of the season – his fourth in 15 games with the WooSox. He drilled a 403-foot solo shot to center field in the sixth inning off right-hander Chad Dallas (TOR No. 25). Arias roped a double to right in his first at-bat and singled home a run in the fourth.
His bat continues to play at the Minors’ highest level, slashing .313/.384/.563 with a .947 OPS since his promotion on July 24. The 20-year-old dominated Double-A competition in Portland this year with a slash line of .318/.407/.587 and 19 homers (.993 OPS) in 75 games.
COMPLETE RED SOX PROSPECT COVERAGE
Arias continues to get reps at both middle infield stops to give the big league club options for a role down the stretch and potentially in October. The Red Sox have a history with young players making similar ascensions, most notably when Xander Bogaerts joined the 2013 championship team.