Franklin Arias, 2027 Fantasy Outlook

There’s two sets of rookies. Well, maybe there’s fifty-dozen sets of rookies, but I’m thinking there’s two sets. First set, guys who are can’t miss. Second set, guys who will be solid major leaguers who I don’t think are going to be great this year, but I have to cover because y’all are going to be like, “Hey, Grey, did you get more handsome this offseason? Anyway, can you tell me your thoughts on Franklin Arias? Seems like a no-brainer, so I figured I’d ask the one person I know that has no brain.” If I have no brain, it’s because I’m writing this while spending a week back in NY with my mom and stepfather. She’s addicted to ChatGPT and makes videos of her Westies driving. The other night, she asked what dance should her three Westies do after seeing their relatives in Scotland and my stepfather said the Macarena and I spelled it for them, then we watched the video on repeat for 20 minutes. So, yeah, normal stuff! Any hoo! I asked the Red Sox scout I know about Franklin Arias and he wasn’t overly excited. His exact words were, “He won’t translate one to one and he’s very slow.” He also wasn’t sure if he’ll break camp this year. Doesn’t mean anything, of course. Just telling you what’s coloring my thinking. So, what can we expect from Franklin Arias for 2027 fantasy baseball?

First, we gots to get the peepers on some film:

That’s now 4 homers in 15 games at Triple-A for Franklin Arias.

Sounds like a man who wants to be part of a Red Sox playoff run. https://t.co/WBWZKmGYMW

— Tyler Milliken (@tylermilliken_) August 14, 2026

Looks a bit like Zach Neto there. Okay, let’s rock on to the next one:

Franklin Arias tallies his second four-hit game of the season, first for the Triple-A @WooSox 💪

MLB’s No. 3 prospect leads all @RedSox Minor Leaguers in OPS (.954), HR (23), and hits (129): https://t.co/qJ51MJm6Pj

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) September 5, 2026

Ya know what’s funny about watching some minor-league clips? You see the level of competition and it puts into perspective the guy you’re watching. There’s two of four “hits” there that might be outs in the majors. “Might,” but still. Okay, no more scare quotes and one more clip:

107.8 mph | 419 ft 💥

MLB’s No. 7 prospect Franklin Arias (@RedSox) blasts his 22nd homer of the year, 3rd for the Triple-A @WooSox: https://t.co/qFTCdmU5G1

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) August 5, 2026

That looked pretty easy. The power, I mean. The speed didn’t look slow necessarily either. I don’t know, it’s why it’s very hard to predict what prospects will do, and why there’s scouts who are often wrong about a guy. In the minors this year, he went 25/9/.323 with a 10.2 BB% and 14.2 K%. Incredible for a guy his age. He’ll play for fantasy too. This isn’t a situation like I had with Roman Anthony. ACKSUALLY, that’s a good guy to mention. At the same age, in the same level of play, Anthony went 18/21/.291 with as 23.5 K%, then was sent back to Triple-A for a 2nd half season. That could very well be Arias’s path. Either way, Arias is better than Anthony for power, and average, but not speed. At least that’s for right now. These guys are still developing — Roman still too.

You figure Fenway’s Green Monster is going to knock down some of those long balls, but add a little bit on BABIP and average. Franklin Arias is also completely ready at 21 years old. That’s nutty young and makes me think we don’t know his upside completely yet. He could be Zach Neto with extra average. He could be Zach Neto with more power, more average and slightly less speed. Lots of possibilities are on the table for a 21-year-old. All of them have to do with Zach Neto. No, I’m kidding.

Do the Red Sox really roll Trevor Story out there for another season? Maybe they do until July, trade Story for a bucket of balls or move him to the bench and call-up Franklin Arias. He’s more than ready, but I think Franklin Arias is one of the second sets of rookies as described in the opening: Will be great as a major leaguer, but I don’t have high hopes for this year. For 2027, I’ll give Franklin Arias projections of 38/10/35/.277/4 in 271 ABs with a July/August call-up, but there’s room for way more upside, depending on his ETA.