Franklin

Arias

Arias went hitless following a surreal hot streak where he homered in three consecutive games and six times in a seven-game span since April 14. The 20-year-old prodigy finished with just eight round-trippers in 116 games last season. His combination of elite plate skills and emerging over-the-fence power at a premium defensive position will position him as an elite fantasy prospect by midseason, if he’s not there already.

Arias has now homered in four of his last five games and has four home runs and 11 RBI on the season while slashing .457/.545/.857 and posting a 4/5 K/BB ratio. The 20-year-old did finish last season with 10 games at Double-A, so if he continues to mash like this at the level, the Red Sox would likely bring him up to Triple-A by the summer. A debut in 2026 seems unlikely, but Arias is making his case to be one of the top prospects in baseball.

Arias has homered in three consecutive contests and leads the entire minors in batting average (.538), on-base percentage (629) and OPS (1.591). The 20-year-old shortstop prodigy has displayed some of the strongest plate skills in the lower minors over the last few years and he’s clearly added some strength and bat speed this season, emerging as one of the more intriguing prospects in the fantasy landscape. He’s highly unlikely to develop into an elite power source at the highest level, but pairing double-digit over-the-fence pop and steals with an above-average hit tool and elite defense set an extremely high fantasy floor. It’s extremely early for definitive statements, but Arias is on pace to finish the year as one of the top prospects in baseball.

Arias been one of the hottest hitters in the entire minors this season, batting .542 (13-for-24) through eight games. What makes it even more impressive is that the 20-year-old prodigy, who has homered in back-to-back contests, is doing this as the youngest hitter in the entire Eastern League. It’s easy to envision Arias becoming one of the top prospects in the fantasy landscape by midseason since he pairs elite contact ability with developing over-the-fence pop. His fantasy stock will continue skyrocketing in dynasty leagues if he keeps tearing the cover off the ball.

The 19-year-old Arias was hitting .265/.329/.380 in 87 games in High-A after coming in at .346/.507/.397 in 19 games in Low-A at the beginning of the year. A plus defensive shortstop, he’s considered Boston’s top position player prospect with Roman Anthony and others having graduated this year.

Arias went 0-for-11 in his first three contests at High-A after being promoted earlier this week, so it’s a positive sign to see him revert to form with an epic performance. The 19-year-old prodigy was Rotoworld’s 70th-ranked dynasty prospect on Opening Day and might reach top-25 range status by the end of the year.

Arias is the fourth-ranked prospect in a loaded Red Sox system — Rotoworld’s 70th-ranked dynasty prospect on Opening Day — and will likely wind up on many traditional Top 100 prospect lists by the All-Star break this season. The 19-year-old hit .346/.407/.397 with nine RBI, 15 runs, and four steals at Low-A Salem this season. He will be joined in High-A by Clarke, who was the Red Sox’s fifth-round pick in the 2024 MLB Draft. Despite not ranking high on many prospect lists, Clarke has been dominant to start the season at Low-A Salem with a microscopic 0.93 ERA in three starts where he’s allowed just two hits with a 17/2 K/BB ratio. The 22-year-old lefty is rapidly emerging as one of the top pitching prospects in the Red Sox system.

Arias hit .355/.471/.584 with 30 steals in 51 games for the FCL Red Sox. He’s since moved up to low-A Salem, but he’s finding things a more difficult as an 18-year-old in full-season ball, having hit .223/.304/.348 in 28 games. Still, that’s not very discouraging. He’s an excellent defensive shortstop, so if he turns out to be anything close to a league-average hitter, he’ll be a fine regular.