The Boston Red Sox number one ranked prospect is now just one step away from The Show.
The organization's highly touted shortstop Franklin Arias has officially been promoted to Triple-A Worcester, as first reported by Tommy Cassell of Worcester T&G Sports.
Arias, 20, has been on a tear this season with Boston's Double-A affiliate, the Portland Sea Dogs. Through 75 games, the righty-swinging infielder has mashed 19 home runs, more than he hit through his first three seasons in the minor leagues (240 games).
He has hit for both power and average, batting .318 batting with a .994 OPS. With a steady glove at shortstop and the emerging bat, Arias has quickly climbed to the top of the Red Sox pipeline and ranked fourth among all MLB prospects in Keith Law's latest top 70 from July 23rd.
When Arias got off to a hot start this year, many wondered what else it would take to earn a promotion to Triple-A. Historically, the Red Sox have been hesitant to move their top prospects out of Double-A before they think they are ready for the big leagues. This level is seen internally as the best place for players to develop, while Triple-A is used as more of a taxi squad for the big league roster.
This says a lot about how they view Arias and the strides he has made this year. It also may give an indication of how they will treat this year's trade deadline. While the club was linked to 25-year-old shortstop Zach Neto of the Los Angeles Angels, it would be a surprising move considering they have Arias now waiting in the wings to claim that role, potentially for the foreseeable future.
If they were to target a shortstop for this season, a veteran rental piece may make more sense and is likely to be cheaper than a player like Neto who is under team control until 2029. It will also be interesting to see whether Arias's name starts to pop up in trade talks, though if Boston sees any of their prospects as untouchable, he would surely be atop the list.
If Arias can carry his Double-A success into the next stage of his career, it may not be long before we see the potential star at Fenway Park, in which case there will be some difficult decisions to be made up the middle of the infield.
