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By Ben Watanabe
Contributing Sports Writer
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It took a few days, but Franklin Arias showed the immense talent that has Boston Red Sox fans so excited.
The top prospect in the Red Sox system homered Tuesday on the very first pitch of the game for the Worcester Red Sox. His first career Triple-A home run came after two hitless performances in his first action since being promoted last week. The camera angle made his shot somewhat difficult to track, but the ball appeared to comfortably clear the left-field wall at Harbor Park in Norwich, Virginia.
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Arias is the latest infield farmhand the Red Sox are staking their hopes on. Recent can't-miss studs Kristian Campbell and Marcelo Mayer have very much missed. Although there's still time for either of them to recover, Arias is the current best hope for a generational shortstop in Boston.
At 20 years old, the 5-foot-11 right-handed swinger is tearing it up at the plate. Across 78 games at Double-A and Triple-A, Arias has batted .308 with a .972 OPS. Not bad for a kid whose biggest question mark was his ability to generate power with his bat.
Arias is still expected to be at least a season away from MLB. Considering how decisions to rush players like Campbell to the big leagues have backfired, the Red Sox might want to be cautious with Arias. Of course, if their infielders keep getting injured, the Red Sox might have no choice to bring him up sooner than they'd like.
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