Brock Beauchamp

Bennett came over from the Washington Nationals in a rare, one-for-one, prospect-for-prospect trade during the offseason. Headed back to the Nats was highly touted RHP Luis Perales, so Bennett has some big shoes to fill. So far, he’s doing just that. As of this writing, he’s appeared in one spring training game for the Red Sox and he looked absolutely dominant during that outing. His fastball was up to 98 mph, faster than he’s previously thrown. He has the size, extension, and control that Andrew Bailey loves in a starter and should be a contributor in Worcester from Opening Day. Expect him to remain in the rotation there, but you could see him as a late season call-up to add depth to the bullpen too.

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.

Alex and Maddie sit down and discuss the fleeting joy of the Red Sox’s sweep of the Royals and then the immediate whiplash after the team got dunked on by the Twins. They review how the lackluster offense at Fenway isn’t instilling much hope (Willson Contreras and Ceddanne Rafaela are excluded here). They break down potential trade scenarios for a right-handed bat (the options are limited) and discuss what an Aroldis Chapman trade would look like with the Padres. 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

Selected in the third round of the 2025 draft out of Louisiana State University, Anthony Eyanson may end up being one of the biggest steals for the Boston Red Sox in recent years. Eyanson completed his junior season at LSU by winning the national championship, ultimately garnering attention as a top-50 draft prospect. As the Saturday starter for LSU, Eyanson made 20 appearances, 18 of them starts, and went 12-2 with two saves across 108 innings. He was dominant on the mound, allowing just 36 earned runs. Things would not work out perfectly for Eyanson, however, as the right-hander slid to the third round, where the Red Sox selected him at the 87th pick. Eyanson is a very intriguing pitching prospect, one who continues to fit in with Craig Breslow’s desire to acquire pitchers who are big (he stands 6-foot-2 and weighs 210 pounds) and have good extension (6.41 feet). The right-hander has a polished arsenal made up of a fastball, slider, curveball and changeup, and he's got strong control of each of those offerings. His fastball routinely sat between 92 and 94 mph in college, occasionally topping out at around 97 mph. However, in his first week of spring training, the right-hander managed to get it up to 98 mph. His slider has more vertical break to it instead of horizontal (i.e., more traditional power slider than a modern sweeper) and despite a lower spin rate, it can miss bats. It also manages to generate a high chase rate despite not landing in the zone all that often. In college, the slider managed to produce a 52% whiff rate and could become his main "out pitch" in professional baseball. Eyanson’s curveball is thrown competitively, but despite a good amount of vertical depth, it fails to miss as many bats as would be expected. It is used more often against left-handed batters. Finally, his changeup may be his weakest pitch, as he fails to consistently land it in the strike zone, and he may need to adjust the low-80s offering as he graduates various levels in the system. In college, Eyanson showed an ability to rack up strikeouts, finishing the 2025 season with 152 in just 108 innings. There is no reason to believe that should change once he gets his first taste of minor league baseball thanks to his fastball, slider and curveball. Early on in spring training, he has looked good on the backfields while throwing live at-bats. One of Eyanson’s best traits is his ability to limit free passes. While his strikeouts were well documented (33.9% rate), he managed to walk just 36 batters with LSU, good for an 8.0% walk rate. Thanks to this, Eyanson already has a high floor and comes with little reliever risk. Should he manage to maintain the increased velocity he’s showing with his fastball across the entire season, he would project as a mid-rotation arm. Eyanson is likely to open the year in High-A Greenville, but thanks to his strike-throwing ability along with his already-polished arsenal of pitches, he could be promoted to the upper levels of the organization quickly. The right-hander is confident in his own abilities and is entering 2026 with a determination to prove he should have been taken within the first two rounds of the draft. He’ll be an interesting pitcher to watch, especially if he can find an arm-side pitch to throw to left-handed hitters.