On Tuesday, the Boston Red Sox made another big move in their minor league system. The Portland Sea Dogs announced that top prospect Franklin Arias was joining the team for the final month of the season.
That’s an impressive feat for a few reasons. First, Arias started the year in Single-A with only 36 games (166 plate appearances) at the level. He was promoted to High-A after only 19 more games with Salem in 2025. After 87 games in High-A, Arias is now headed to Double-A, where he's already hit his first home run at the level.
Then there’s the fact that Arias is only 19. He doesn’t turn 20 until November 19. There’s a reason he’s been considered the top prospect in the system by many since the promotion of Roman Anthony.
The overall numbers are solid. In 478 plate appearances between Single-A and High-A, Arias slashed .279/.343/.383 with 25 doubles, one triple, and six home runs. The right-handed hitter drove in 58 runs, scored 58, and stole 11 bases.
The Red Sox #1 prospect Franklin Arias has arrived 😤 pic.twitter.com/1u7HplD6ML
— Portland Sea Dogs (@PortlandSeaDogs) September 2, 2025
Red Sox Prospect Update: Franklin Arias promoted to Double-A
Arias struggled to work pitch counts for a while. He wasn’t striking out, but he wasn’t drawing walks either. In his 19 games with Salem, Arias had just 12 strikeouts but only six walks. Things got a bit better in High-A, but not by much.
Then, in June, Arias drew 11 walks compared to just 10 strikeouts. He improved on that in August with 16 walks compared to 10 strikeouts. While the batting average dipped, and the power wasn’t eye-popping, the development of his swing decisions and plate discipline was a much more important growth.
Meanwhile, Arias has been fantastic defensively at shortstop. He’s incredibly smooth at the position, with a good glove, great range, and a strong arm. His defense is one of his shining traits. The power might never be incredible, but he’s a good athlete with Gold Glove potential and ridiculous contact skills.
Arias now has a few weeks to get acclimated to Double-A, setting him up for a 2026 season where it’s not completely out of the question that he could be in the Major League mix at some point. How did his Portland debut go, you ask? It took four pitches for Franklin Arias to rip a double down the third base line in his first AB.