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Disparity In Ranking Of Top Red Sox Prospects originally appeared on NESN. Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
More props for Boston Red Sox prospect Franklin Arias. The Athletic's Keith Law updated his list of the top 50 players down on the farm and Arias came in at No 3 overall. Law ranked the shortstop No. 12 before the season.
"Arias has already set a new career high in homers, with 11 in 36 games so far in Double A, but more impressive is how difficult it has been to strike him out: he has just 19 strikeouts on the season, a 12.3 percent rate, with a whiff rate on pitches in the zone of just 13 percent this year," Law notes. "Arias is very likely to stick at shortstop with excellent hands and a plus arm, with 25+ homer upside."
But MLB Pipeline's updated list of the top 100 prospects had Arias at No. 11 based on this scouting report:
"Arias has advanced bat-to-ball skills for his age, using a simple right-handed stroke to make contact to all fields. ... Adding more selectivity would improve his quality of contact as he currently generates too many grounders, and he has added enough bat speed and strength since signing to produce 10-15 homers per season.
"With the exception of having less power, Arias' tools resemble Marcelo Mayer's at the same age. He overcomes below-average speed with a high baseball IQ that enables him to steal an occasional base and cover ground at shortstop."
In 38 games with the Sea Dogs, Arias is hitting .343 with 12 home runs and a 1.079 OPS.
Back to Law's list. He has Red Sox right-hander Anthony Eyanson at No. 21 overall. The 21-year-old wasn't even listed in Law's preseason rankings.
"Boston’s third-round pick last year had been up to 98 at LSU, but sat more 93-94; he’s picked up about 2 full mph, hitting 100.2 mph in Boston’s Spring Breakout game, and everything else has been just as good if not better than it was in college," Law writes.
"He still has that plus slider, which seems to break forever, while his curveball is a hammer that’s nearly 12/6, and his splitter has become a real weapon for him, with a 63 percent whiff rate in a small sample," Law notes.
But MLB Pipeline's updated list has Eyanson at No. 72 overall, based on this scouting report:
"Eyanson's best pitch is a tight mid-80s slider that beats up lefties and righties alike, and he can use it to get chases or swing and misses in the strike zone. ... his heater has gone from operating at 92-93 mph and touching 98 at LSU to parking at 95-96, touching 100 and showing improved carry in pro ball.
"Eyanson has made some progress with a mid-80s splitter that he's still learning to land for strikes. He's athletic and fills the strike zone, and his immediate dominance earned him an early-May promotion to Double-A. He turned pro with the ceiling of a No. 3 starter and now looks like he can exceed that."
The righty made five starts for High-A Greenville, posting an insane 0.44 ERA with 34 strikeouts in 20.1 innings.
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