Brock Beauchamp

When the Red Sox signed Franklin Arias as an international free agent, they did so with the thought of him evolving into a Gold Glove shortstop. Since then, he’s consistently surprised the organization with his ability to put the ball in play, turning himself into a top prospect within the organization. The 2025 season took his outlook to a whole other level. Playing as a 19-year-old, Arias showcased his abilities out of the gates, opening the season with Salem before becoming one of the youngest players in High-A with Greenville. His performance there allowed him to finish the season with Double-A Portland, roughly 4.5 years younger than the average player. In 116 games between the three levels, Arias hit .278/.335/.388 with 27 doubles, one triple, eight home runs and 66 RBIs, all while playing elite defense at shortstop. Arias’ ability to make contact is thanks in part to his quick hands and a swing that is line-drive oriented. The young infielder also has great barrel control and a feel for contact. Despite all those positives, however, he does not have the best bat speed and needs to improve his approach at the plate, as he can get too aggressive. Arias has a habit of attacking fastballs early in an at-bat as he tries to hit the ball all over the field. With secondaries, he sometimes has difficulty recognizing the pitch out of a pitcher's hand, leading to high chase rates, though some of that is balanced out by strong in-zone contact skills. Power-wise, he has meager over-the-fence pop and it’s not a big part of his game. He can, however, produce great exit velocities for his age. Arias is a gap hitter due to his line-drive approach and scouts have described his power as below average. Speed is also not a big part of his game, as he’s viewed as having below average speed. While he can go first to third on a single or second to home, he will never be viewed as a speed threat. He does make up for his lack of speed with quality baserunning instincts, but he won't derive a lot of his value on the basepaths. Defense is what Arias is best known for. The infielder is mainly a shortstop but has also seen some time at second base. He has great range and is comfortable playing all angles when charging the ball. He also has the ability to make difficult plays look rather routine. Still just 20 years old, he’s viewed as one of the best middle-infield gloves in all of the minor leagues. Arias’ value will be determined by how his hit tool continues to develop. Already he’s shown that he can handle shortstop at an elite level, but should his bat not continue to develop, he might peak as a defense-first utility infielder. If his offense continues to improve, he can become a quality starting shortstop despite his lack of power and speed. Arias will open the season with Portland, where he’ll man the six. In 2025, he only got to play 10 games there and the organization will want to see how he handles a prolonged exposure to higher-level pitching. Given his youth, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he spent the entire season with Portland. If he gets promoted, it would likely be in a similar situation to his schedule last year — a late season showcase against the next minor-league level.

Primera was signed by the Red Sox out of Venezuela in September of 2024 and was sent to the Dominican Summer League in 2025 at the age of 18. The young catcher immediately dominated the league, as he slashed .333/.465/.430 with 10 doubles, one home run and 27 RBIs while being added to the All-Star Game as an injury replacement. Primera would go on to win the game’s MVP after hitting a home run in his lone at-bat. Following his great season, the team had him play in the 2026 Spring Breakout game along with being on the roster for their annual Futures at Fenway South game. The team then decided he was ready for the FCL and had him open the season in Florida instead of spending more time in the DSL. Through his first 27 games this season, Primera has made that decision look smart, as he’s hit .464/.589/.821 with six doubles, eight home runs and 28 RBIs all while playing outstanding defense. Measured at 6-foot-0, Primera still has some room to grow, especially in his upper body, but he should manage to stick behind the plate without worry about his size. He does, however, need to get stronger if he wants to improve various aspects of his game. As a hitter, Primera has a compact swing that is short and allows him to find the barrel consistently. However, he does not see many pitches as he will look to attack early in the count, something that more advanced pitchers could take advantage of as he moves up the minor-league levels. He will need to work on developing how he attacks pitchers along with recognizing different pitches. He has pull-side power, but if he wants to really tap into it, he’ll have to add strength so that he can impact the ball with higher exit velocities. His speed is well below average, however, and should not be viewed as a part of his game. Defensively, he is strong and should remain behind the dish barring a major injury. His ability to block baseballs in the dirt is great thanks to his ability to move well behind the plate. He also has plus receiving and framing skills despite being just 19 years old. His arm is also viewed as above average and should only increase as he improves his strength and conditioning. Overall, there’s a lot to like about Primera, as his defensive upside alone should give him a quicker path to the majors than most backstops. His ceiling and floor will all be based on how his hit tool develops, and he could either be a serious catching prospect or nothing more than upper-minors depth. Despite that, the Red Sox have a fun prospect to keep an eye on for the next couple seasons as the organization tries to figure out what they have in their catching department.

Delzine has shot up prospect rankings this season, as he went unlisted on not just the TalkSox list but nearly every major prospect ranking coming into 2026. That quickly changed once the FCL season began in early May, as he has put on a show with his pitching. A strong, tall right-hander, Delzine stands at a towering 6-foot-5 on the mound and still has room to grow as he enters his late teens (he won’t turn 19 until 2027). In his first taste of stateside baseball, Delzine has dominated in his seven appearances. Tossing 27 1/3 innings, he’s allowed just seven runs, six of them earned, while striking out 32 batters. Delzine, who signed with the Red Sox in January of 2025, is already viewed as a high-upside arm throughout the system thanks to his size and athleticism that he’s shown during his time in Florida. Even before this season, the Red Sox were high on him, as the right-hander received the largest bonus of any pitcher signed by the Red Sox in their 2025 international free agent class. On the mound, Delzine starts on the first base side of the rubber before throwing from a three-quarters arm slot. With a high leg kick and a quick arm, Delzine has shown an ability to repeat his delivery early on in his career. Thanks to his large body and the belief he’ll only grow more, Delzine has the body of a starter and will be developed as such. He already has a four-pitch arsenal, with three of them already in game-ready form. His best pitch is his fastball, while he uses a changeup and curveball to supplement it. Delzine also has a slider, but it’s behind his other two secondaries. The fastball averages around the low-90s, topping out as high as 94 mph at times and is viewed as having room to add velocity as he grows. Despite being his best pitch so far in his career, it might be his changeup that becomes his best pitch in the future thanks to the bat-missing ability it’s already showcasing. His curveball is one that breaks 11-to-5 and some have said that at its best, it showcases a tight rotation that allows him to bury it down in the zone and can throw it away from right-handed batters. There isn’t much on his slider, as it’s still being developed. Overall, he’s viewed as a high-upside prospect that should be able to handle the strain of starting games along with having the mental aspect needed due to his competitive nature. Should Delzine develop consistently and avoid injuries, there may be a new arm joining the likes of Eyanson, Witherspoon and Phillips when it comes to the most hype in the system.

Azocar is an interesting prospect, as he’s just 19 years old and breaking out in Salem. When signed as an amateur, Azocar was viewed as having good contact skills along with projections viewing him as eventually being a good hitter. However, he struggled in 2024 with just three extra-base hits while moving from the infield to the outfield full time. Entering 2025, the outfielder put on 25 pounds of muscle and increased his quality of contact which led to a quick promotion to Single-A where he was one of the youngest players in the league. If you looked at just his stats, you would think that there wasn’t much to like with Azocar, as he hit just .202/.273/.314 in 71 games. In that same span he had nine doubles, a triple, six home runs and 26 RBIs. Despite those numbers, there was a lot to like in the underlying data, including 90th percentile exit velocity. In the majors, a 90th exit velocity of 107 mph or higher is considered elite. Azocar’s 105.4 mph was the highest for all players of his age across the minors. To add to his power, he also showcased solid contact ability thanks to an in-zone whiff rate of just 18%. Azocar starts with a leg lift timing device while hitting and has showcased average bat speed so far in his young career. He can be aggressive at times but will make contact with pitches in the zone and does not chase often. He still needs to work on developing his pitch recognition for secondary pitches, but should that happen, he should take off as a prospect. He currently has average raw power, but as he fills out as he ages that should increase, as shown in 2026 (six home runs through 28 games vs. six home runs in 71 games in 2025). Azocar has been viewed as having slightly above average speed which helps in the outfield when paired with his plus range in center field. Often, he shows solid instincts on balls hit to the outfield while taking good routes to the ball. While he is likely capable of playing all three outfield positions at an above-average level, he is likely to stick in center field long term. His arm is also viewed as being above-average, which will only help his development. Overall, he should be viewed as an athletic, defensive outfielder with power potential. At the moment, his hit tool is what will determine if he truly breaks out into a great prospect or not, but the improvements have been seen so far in 2026. His outcome is anywhere from a starting outfielder to a minor-league bench role, a huge range laden with tantalizing upside.

The Red Sox were lauded for a strong performance during last year's annual amateur player selection process, especially during the first day of the draft. The biggest steal of that day could be argued as any of the three pitchers the Red Sox drafted, however, none stand out more than the first player who fell right into their laps. Drafted 15th overall, Kyson Witherspoon was viewed as a consensus top-10 talent prior to the event. Fortunately for the Red Sox, the right-handed pitcher from Oklahoma State slipped and ended up available right in the middle of the first round. Witherspoon dominated in his final season at Oklahoma to the tune of a 10-4 record and 2.65 ERA in 16 starts. In that span, he threw 95 innings and struck out 124 batters, thanks in part to his velocity and secondary pitches that have scouts drooling over his potential. Witherspoon, who turned 21 in mid-August, made significant strides during his college career and is already implementing some changes in Boston. One of the more notable alterations to his profile was the addition of a sweeper he worked on over the winter with Driveline, and the pitch is already flashing some impressive break. No prospect with the Red Sox averaged close to 20 inches of horizontal break with a sweeper, but Witherspoon’s managed that after one offseason of working on the pitch. The rest of Witherspoon’s arsenal is made up of a fastball, cutter, slider, curveball and changeup. Unlike other pitching targets by the Red Sox, his extension is under six feet (averaged around 5.7 feet). However, he’s able to repeat his delivery easily and hides the ball well throughout his throwing motion. His fastball averaged 95 to 97 mph in college, which he maintained during his first two innings of game action in minor-league spring training. His velocity seems to have improved since being drafted (in terms of maintaining upper-echelon consistency), which will pair well with his strong command. However, the pitch gets its bat-missing ability from its velocity and not its shape. His cutter was used often in college as a pitch he threw for consistent strikes. Velocity-wise, it averaged between 88 and 91 mph, though it's shown an ability to miss bats while also inducing batters to chase outside the zone. Likewise, his slider is a pitch he was able to use to generate whiffs, especially against right-handed batters. Both pitches have plus tendencies and are viewed as being potentially above average. The curveball, on the other hand, is seen as a middling offering, and that's if he learns to consistently land it in the zone. In college, it sat 78 to 82 mph and is considered to have good depth on its break. When he’s able to command and control it he can generate a few whiffs. His changeup is certainly the one that needs the most development (ignoring the new sweeper). The pitch has managed to reach the low-90s, but it was his least used offering in college and lacks the fade/tail to really dominate lefties down and away. Overall, Witherspoon has a chance to join the likes of Payton Tolle and Connolly Early as pitchers who moved through the system quickly. He's got a projectable mid-rotation future, though there's no denying the ace upside occasionally flashing in his profile. His fastball, despite being viewed as his best pitch, could also be in line for some tweaking should the Red Sox want it to have a different shape. Witherspoon, barring a surprise placement, will open the season in Greenville much like Tolle did the year prior. Though, should he dominate High-A batters, it wouldn’t be a surprise if he is promoted to Portland by some point in June. The Red Sox have been aggressive the last few years when it comes to promoting prospects that are performing well, and it shouldn’t be any different with the draft class of 2025.

In this week's episode, Nick goes over how things have been for Greenville, Salem, and even the FCL, discussing some standouts such as Franklin Primera and Sadbiel Delzine in the FCL, along with slugger Jack Winnay of the Drive. From the pitching standpoint he once more talks about the young pitchers such as Marcus Phillips, Christian Foutch, Kyson Witherspoon, and Barrett Morgan, and how they've been doing so far in June. Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-talk-sox-podcast/id1783204104 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3qPrPXEngu0CxgTmlf0ynm Listen on iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/263-the-talk-sox-podcast-244591331/ Listen on Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/4tmd121v Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@talksox