Boston Red Sox fans are painfully aware that their infield has been horrific offensively this season, but thankfully, that trend hasn't carried over to the minor leagues.
In particular, Boston's consensus No. 1 position player prospect, shortstop Franklin Arias, has gone gangbusters at the plate for Double-A Portland. Through his first 10 games entering Monday, the 20-year-old was hitting .467 with three home runs and a 1.397 OPS.
While the sample size is still quite small, it does punctuate the improvements Boston's executives were telling us Arias had made over the winter. In light of his fast start, one top farm system executive -- senior director of player development Brian Abraham -- recently shed light on the specifics of what Arias had worked to improve.
"He’s done a good job adding weight and strength, which has translated into more consistent impact on the baseball -- bat speed, more barrels and overall louder contact," Abraham told Ian Browne of MLB.com. "The other key focus has been improving his pitch selection, targeting the right pitches he can drive in the air to the pull side. While the goal is for him to be a complete hitter, we know more impact comes when he’s pulling the ball in the air for damage."
Though Arias still has to show he can handle upper-level minor-league pitching for more than the first two weeks of the season, the fact that he's hitting on top of playing superb defense signals that he can be an impact big-leaguer. Abraham went on to spell out what boxes the youngster still has to check.
"Continuing to get bigger and stronger, both to improve his on-field performance and to eventually handle the demands of a full 162-game season at a premium position -- especially given his age and opportunity for continued physical development." Abraham told Browne. "With his work ethic, consistency, and strong baseball instincts, there’s a lot of excitement about where he’s headed and the growth still to come."
Trevor Story's future as the Red Sox's shortstop beyond this season has to be in question, and it's not as though Marcelo Mayer has looked like a lock to succeed him. Arias has the opportunity to force the organization's hand if he translates this offensive surge to the majors one day.