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It’s baseball at a different venue. That’s how Franklin Arias views climbing the levels of pro ball.
Arias, the Red Sox’ top prospect and the No. 7 overall prospect in minor league baseball, according to MLB.com, adopted that mindset when he signed with Boston in 2023.
The philosophy has served the 20-year-old Venezuelan shortstop well, he said, especially nowadays while his promotion to Triple-A Worcester and, eventually, Boston have become hot conversation topics.
For now, Arias’s home venue is Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine, as a member of the Double-A Sea Dogs.
“I certainly see it. It’s on social media all over the place — get me to Triple-A,” Arias said through a translator, Sea Dogs pitching coach Juan Rivera, on Thursday before playing against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats at Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester. “I know that is out of my control but if I just focus on just being a better baseball player today, it will come in time.”
The Sea Dogs conclude their seven-game road trip against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats this weekend, with games on Saturday night (6:03) and Sunday (1:05 p.m.).
Arias will represent the American League in the 2026 All-Star Futures Game on Sunday (noon) at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The National League roster includes Derry resident and St. Louis Cardinals pitching prospect Liam Doyle.
Arias batted .330 with a 1.019 OPS over his first 69 games for the Sea Dogs this season, which is his first full Double-A campaign. He also cracked a career-high 18 home runs, with 48 RBIs and 47 runs scored over that span.
“Whenever I’ve moved so far in my career, no matter what level I was going to, I never really wanted to think that this was greater than (the previous level),” Arias said. “So long as I come in daily thinking, ‘Hey, this is baseball at a different venue,’ that’s what makes me tick.”
Arias added strength with his time in the weight room last offseason, said acting Portland manager Kyle Sasala, and Arias understands how pitchers try to approach him. Sasala was named acting manager after Chad Epperson, a Derry resident and Portland’s manager since 2022, was named the Red Sox’ interim third-base coach in April.
Arias was the Eastern League Player of the Month for April after leading the league in total bases (55), OPS (1.196) and slugging percentage (.764) that month.
“He’s very good at making pitchers pay for their mistakes and he’s also shown that he can be a bad-ball hitter,” Sasala said. “Some of the home runs that he’s hit have not been strikes that he’s been able to get the bat to, which is also impressive.”
Arias, Portland’s leadoff hitter, said his power surge has been an organic development. He’s changed where he makes contact with the ball this season without changing his swing.
In a 15-8 Portland loss to the Fisher Cats on Thursday, Arias went 1-for-5, hitting a solo home run in the ninth inning to cap the game’s scoring.
“I really worked on trying to make contact a little bit more far out in front of my body than in years past,” Arias said, “so, there hasn’t been a necessarily mechanical queue or mechanical change.”
While he’s having his best offensive season over his time in the Red Sox organization, Arias has always been lauded for his defensive play.
Sasala, who is in his third season with the Red Sox and started this year as Portland’s defensive coach, described Arias as an intelligent player who sees the game through a very mature lens. Arias has also improved his ability — and been more willing — to dive for balls, Sasala said.
Entering the Sea Dogs’ game at New Hampshire on Friday night, Arias had helped turn 27 double plays, recorded 69 putouts and made three errors this year.
“In terms of defensively, he is an elite converter,” Sasala said of Arias. “He makes the routine plays very routinely, very consistently. Usually if it touches his glove it’s going to be an out, which is a lot of fun to watch, especially a young, 20-year-old shortstop.”
Arias has a high floor, said Sasala, who hesitated to put a cap on the highly touted prospect’s potential.
“He’s a very unique player with how intelligent (he is) and how he sees the game and the strides that he’s made to this point,” Sasala said. “Him being only 20 years old, it’s hard to imagine if he gets more physical, if he keeps growing, what that could look like three, four, five years down the road.”
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Arias, the Red Sox’ top prospect and the No. 7 overall prospect in minor league baseball, according to MLB.com, adopted that mindset when he signed with Boston in 2023.
The philosophy has served the 20-year-old Venezuelan shortstop well, he said, especially nowadays while his promotion to Triple-A Worcester and, eventually, Boston have become hot conversation topics.
For now, Arias’s home venue is Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine, as a member of the Double-A Sea Dogs.
“I certainly see it. It’s on social media all over the place — get me to Triple-A,” Arias said through a translator, Sea Dogs pitching coach Juan Rivera, on Thursday before playing against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats at Delta Dental Stadium in Manchester. “I know that is out of my control but if I just focus on just being a better baseball player today, it will come in time.”
The Sea Dogs conclude their seven-game road trip against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats this weekend, with games on Saturday night (6:03) and Sunday (1:05 p.m.).
Arias will represent the American League in the 2026 All-Star Futures Game on Sunday (noon) at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. The National League roster includes Derry resident and St. Louis Cardinals pitching prospect Liam Doyle.
Arias batted .330 with a 1.019 OPS over his first 69 games for the Sea Dogs this season, which is his first full Double-A campaign. He also cracked a career-high 18 home runs, with 48 RBIs and 47 runs scored over that span.
“Whenever I’ve moved so far in my career, no matter what level I was going to, I never really wanted to think that this was greater than (the previous level),” Arias said. “So long as I come in daily thinking, ‘Hey, this is baseball at a different venue,’ that’s what makes me tick.”
Arias added strength with his time in the weight room last offseason, said acting Portland manager Kyle Sasala, and Arias understands how pitchers try to approach him. Sasala was named acting manager after Chad Epperson, a Derry resident and Portland’s manager since 2022, was named the Red Sox’ interim third-base coach in April.
Arias was the Eastern League Player of the Month for April after leading the league in total bases (55), OPS (1.196) and slugging percentage (.764) that month.
“He’s very good at making pitchers pay for their mistakes and he’s also shown that he can be a bad-ball hitter,” Sasala said. “Some of the home runs that he’s hit have not been strikes that he’s been able to get the bat to, which is also impressive.”
Arias, Portland’s leadoff hitter, said his power surge has been an organic development. He’s changed where he makes contact with the ball this season without changing his swing.
In a 15-8 Portland loss to the Fisher Cats on Thursday, Arias went 1-for-5, hitting a solo home run in the ninth inning to cap the game’s scoring.
“I really worked on trying to make contact a little bit more far out in front of my body than in years past,” Arias said, “so, there hasn’t been a necessarily mechanical queue or mechanical change.”
While he’s having his best offensive season over his time in the Red Sox organization, Arias has always been lauded for his defensive play.
Sasala, who is in his third season with the Red Sox and started this year as Portland’s defensive coach, described Arias as an intelligent player who sees the game through a very mature lens. Arias has also improved his ability — and been more willing — to dive for balls, Sasala said.
Entering the Sea Dogs’ game at New Hampshire on Friday night, Arias had helped turn 27 double plays, recorded 69 putouts and made three errors this year.
“In terms of defensively, he is an elite converter,” Sasala said of Arias. “He makes the routine plays very routinely, very consistently. Usually if it touches his glove it’s going to be an out, which is a lot of fun to watch, especially a young, 20-year-old shortstop.”
Arias has a high floor, said Sasala, who hesitated to put a cap on the highly touted prospect’s potential.
“He’s a very unique player with how intelligent (he is) and how he sees the game and the strides that he’s made to this point,” Sasala said. “Him being only 20 years old, it’s hard to imagine if he gets more physical, if he keeps growing, what that could look like three, four, five years down the road.”
[email protected]
Continue reading...
