Red Sox to promote prospects Franklin Arias, Brandon Clarke to High-A Greenville

The Red Sox are promoting infield prospect Franklin Arias and pitching prospect Brandon Clarke from Low-A Salem to High-A Greenville, as was first reported by Andrew Parker of Beyond the Monster .

Arias, 19, is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No.

4 prospect in Bostons farm system and the No.

72 prospect in the sport.

The right-handed hitter batted a stout .346/.407/.397 with four doubles, nine RBIs, 15 runs scored, four stolen bases, six walks, and 12 strikeouts in 19 games (86 plate appearances) for Salem to open the season.

He did not play in Sundays series finale against Hickory.

Among 93 qualified hitters in the Carolina League coming into play on Sunday, Arias ranked third in swinging-strike rate (6.1 percent), sixth in batting average, 11th in strikeout rate (14 percent), 13th in line-drive rate (29.2 percent), 21st in on-base percentage, 29th in wOBA (.401), 30th in OPS (.804), 34th in slugging percentage and wRC+ (128), and 46th in speed score, per FanGraphs.

On the other side of the ball, Arias has seen the vast majority of his playing time to this point in the season come at shortstop.

With Salem, the 5-foot-11, 170-pounder logged 135 1/3 innings at short, where he committed just one error in 70 defensive chances.

He also made one start at second base and two starts at DH.

A native of Venezuela, Arias originally signed with the Red Sox for $525,000 as an international free agent coming out of Caracas in January 2023.

He put forth a strong professional debut in the Dominican Summer League that season, then caught fire in the Florida Complex League last year .

To go along with being named the FCLs 2024 MVP and top prospect, he was rewarded with a promotion to Salem in late July and was later recognized as Bostons Minor League Baserunner of the Year.

I definitely want to be the best player I can be.

[But] I try to take it day to day and try not to look too far in the future, Arias told The Boston Globes Alex Speier (through a translator) earlier this month .

I feel thats what helped me get that MVP last year, and I think if I can take that day-to-day approach this year, I can have some similar results.

Arias, who does not turn 20 until November, also told Speier that he is aiming to make it to Double-A Portland or even Triple-A Worcester before his age-19 season draws to a close.

If he were to receive a promotion to Portland at some point this winter or fall, he would join Roman Anthony (2023) and Xander Bogaerts (2012) as the two most recent Red Sox prospects to reach the Double-A level as teenagers.

In Greenville, Arias is slated to join a middle infield mix that already includes the likes of Marvin Alcantara, Nazzan Zanetello, Fraymi De Leon, and Justin Riemer (on the injured list).

It would not be terribly surprising if he emerged as the Drives primary shortstop moving forward, though he could spend additional time at second base to get others reps at short.

Clarke, meanwhile, is not yet ranked by Baseball America as one of Bostons top pitching prospects , though that will likely be changing soon.

The 22-year-old left-hander was selected by the Red Sox in the fifth round (148th overall) of last summers draft out of State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota.

He forewent his commitment to transfer to South Carolina by signing for $400,000, but did not pitch for an affiliate after putting pen to paper.

Clarke, instead, waited until April 10 of this year (his 22nd birthday) to make his professional debut.

The Virginia native then posted a 0.93 ERA (1.20 FIP) with 17 strikeouts to just two walks in his first three starts (9 2/3 innings) for Salem.

He only gave up two hits in that stretch as two of his three outings to kick off the 2025 campaign were both scoreless and hitless .

Among the 118 Caroline League pitchers who entered Sunday with at least nine innings under their belts early on, Clark ranked first in FIP and xFIP (1.55), second in strikeout rate (47.2 percent) and groundball rate (68.8 percent), batting average against (.061), and WHIP (0.41), third in line-drive rate (6.3 percent) and swinging-strike rate (21.3 percent), 13th in ERA, and 17th in walk rate (5.6 percent), per FanGraphs.

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, Clarke stood out in spring training not just because of his large stature, but because of his arsenal as well.

As highlighted in his SoxProspects.com scouting report , the athletic lefty throws from a three-quarters arm slot and incorporates a high leg kick into his delivery.

He operates with a four-pitch mix that consists of a 96-99 mph fastball that tops out at 100 mph, an 87-90 mph slider, an 81-85 mph sweeper, and an 87-89 mph changeup that is still considered a work in progress.

Much like Arias, Clarke is in line to face more advanced competition at the High-A level with this promotion.

Presumably taking the place of fellow southpaw Hayden Mullins ( promoted to Portland ) in Greenvilles starting rotation, Clarke will join a talented pitching staff headed by 2024 second-round draft pick Payton Tolle, Juan Valera, and Jedixson Paez.

He will likely make his Drive debut in the teams upcoming series against the Asheville Tourists at Fluor Field.

This article first appeared on Blogging the Red Sox and was syndicated with permission..

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