Tag: player of the month

Red Sox’ Franklin Arias named South Atlantic League Player of the Month for May

Red Sox infield prospect Franklin Arias has been named the South Atlantic League Player of the Month for May, Minor League Baseball announced on Thursday.

Arias, 19, went 40-for-99 (.404) with nine doubles, one triple, two home runs, 19 RBIs, 14 runs scored, three stolen bases, six walks, and seven strikeouts in 23 games for High-A Greenville last month. The right-handed hitter is currently riding a 14-game hitting streak. He is batting .372/.408/.529 with 11 doubles, one triple, two home runs, 23 RBIs, 14 runs scored, five stolen bases, eight walks, and nine strikeouts over 28 games (130 plate appearances) with the Drive since being promoted from Low-A Salem in late April.

Among the 95 hitters in the South Atlantic League who entered play Tuesday having made at least 130 trips to the plate this season, Arias ranked first in batting average, strikeout rate (6.9 percent), and swinging-strike rate (3.5 percent), second in OPS (.937), third in slugging percentage, fourth in wOBA (.427) and wRC+ (162), ninth in on-base percentage, and 35th in isolated power (.157) and line-drive rate (22.9 percent), per FanGraphs.

On the other side of the ball, Arias was just recognized as the Red Sox’ Minor League Defensive Player of the Month for May. Since moving up from Salem to Greenville, the 5-foot-11, 170-pounder has split his playing time on the field between shortstop and second base, making 20 starts at the former and four starts at the latter. Between the two spots, he has committed just one error in 87 total chances. He has also made four starts at DH.

Originally signed out of Venezuela for $525,000 in January 2023, Arias is currently regarded by Baseball America as the No. 4 prospect in Boston’s farm system and the No. 65 prospect in the sport. Following an impressive professional debut in the Dominican Summer League, the Caracas native is coming off a 2024 season that saw him net plenty of awards, including Baseball America Rookie All-Star honors, Florida Complex League All-Star, MVP, and Top Prospect honors, and Red Sox Minor League Baserunner of the Year honors.

Arias, who does not turn 20 until November, told The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier in April that one of his goals was to make it to Double-A Portland — or even Triple-A Worcester — before the end of the 2025 season. Given Arias’ level of play at High-A, Greenville hitting coach JP Fasone was recently asked by MassLive.com’s Christopher Smith if he believes the teenager is already ready for his second promotion of the year.

“Luckily, I don’t have to worry about any of that (promotion decisions), but I would say if he continues on this trajectory, there’s no reason he wouldn’t be,” Fasone said. “He’s definitely shown he can handle the pitching. There are definitely things we still wanna see out of him in Greenville. But when the people who make those decisions make the call, he’ll definitely be ready.”

(Picture of Franklin Arias: Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Red Sox’ Matthew Lugo named South Atlantic League Player of the Month for August

Red Sox infield prospect Matthew Lugo has been named the South Atlantic League Player of the Month for August, Minor League Baseball announced on Wednesday.

Lugo batted .353/.405/.608 with five doubles, seven home runs, 24 RBIs, 22 runs scored, nine stolen bases, eight walks, and 21 strikeouts over 25 games (111 plate appearances) for High-A Greenville in the month of August. Since the calendar flipped to September, the right-handed hitter has gone 4-for-11 (.364) in his last three games to extend his hitting streak to eight games.

On the 2022 season as a whole, Lugo has slashed a respectable .289/.344/.504 (126 wRC+) to go along with 24 doubles, nine triples, 18 homers, 76 runs driven in, 74 runs scored, 18 stolen bases, 33 walks, and 90 strikeouts across 109 games (489 plate appearances) with the Drive.

Among qualified South Atlantic League hitters, Lugo ranks eighth in batting average, 29th in on-base percentage, third in slugging percentage, 10th in OPS (.849), sixth in isolated power (.215), sixth in speed score (7.3), and 10th in wRC+, per FanGraphs.

Compared to last year with Low-A Salem, Lugo has been able to cut down on his strikeout rate (20 percent to 18.4 percent), but he is also drawing fewer walks (8.1 percent walk rate to 6.7 percent) and making solid contact less frequently (27.3 percent line-drive rate to 18.4 percent) in Greenville.

On the other side of the ball, Lugo has seen playing time at three different positions this season. The 6-foot-1, 187-pounder has logged 628 2/3 innings at shortstop, 180 1/3 innings at third base, and 58 innings at second base. While the versatility is nice, he has committed a total of 26 errors.

Lugo, 21, was originally selected by the Red Sox with the 69th overall pick in the 2019 amateur draft out of the Carlos Beltran Baseball Academy in Puerto Rico. The nephew of the former All-Star outfielder, Lugo signed for $1.1 million and is now regarded by Baseball America as the No. 13 prospect in Boston’s farm system.

Given that the minor-league season is almost over, it seems unlikely at this point that Lugo will receive a late promotion to Double-A Portland, though the Sea Dogs are scheduled to play six more regular season games after the Drive wrap things up on Sunday.

Regardless of that happens there, Lugo seems like a sure bet to break camp next spring with Portland. He may also be considered a candidate to play in the Arizona Fall League beginning next month even though he is not Rule 5-eligible until 2023.

(Picture of Matthew Lugo: Kelly O’Connor/sittingstill.smugmug.com)