Red Sox's 19-Year-Old No. 1 Prospect Earns Second Promotion Of 2025

The Boston Red Sox's farm system has had a massive year of major league promotions, but there's important work bubbling under the surface as well.

After graduating the trio of Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, and Marcelo Mayer to the big leagues earlier this season, the Red Sox weren't left with too many big-name prospects, especially on the position player side. But shortstop Franklin Arias is doing his part to carry the torch.

Arias, 19, was an amateur signing out of Venezuela in January of 2023. And though he's by no means a finished product, he now appears to be flying through the minors at an impressive clip.

Franklin Arias promoted to Double-A Portland

On Tuesday, the Double-A Portland SeaDogs announced on social media that Arias had earned a promotion from the High-A Greenville Drive. That's now the second promotion of the year for Arias, who began his 2025 campaign with Low-A Salem.

In 87 games for Greenville, Arias slashed .265/.329/.380, tallying six home runs, 49 RBIs, and seven stolen bases. That came on the back of a .346/.407/.396 start through 19 games in Greenville.

MLB Pipeline currently ranks Arias as the No. 1 prospect in the Red Sox system, and the No. 24 prospect in all of baseball. Here's an excerpt from the site's most recent scouting report:

"Arias makes advanced swing decisions for a teenager and repeated contact with a simple right-handed stroke. As they have with several of their top prospects, the Red Sox have helped him add strength and bat speed, and he did a better job of driving balls to his pull side during his U.S. debut. He could hit for average, draw a healthy amount of walks and provide 15-20 homers per year.

"Arias' tools are fairly similar to Marcelo Mayer's at the same age. He's a fringy runner with a high baseball IQ that enables him to play faster than that on the bases and in the field. He's the best shortstop defender in the system, featuring range to both sides, reliable hands and a strong arm."

The power is still to come, as is to be expected for a 19-year-old. He's now got 16 long balls in 230 professional games, which isn't world-beating, but leaves room to dream on upside as he continues to fill out.

And because it appears the Red Sox should have no worries about his ability to stick at shortstop, the question becomes whether he will eventually assume the mantle as the team's starter in Boston when veteran Trevor Story ages out, or whether the oft-injured Mayer can stay healthy enough to claim it first.

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