Herd to face MLB's #3 ranked prospect this week in WooSox's Franklin Arias

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When the Worcester Red Sox visit Sahlen Field this week, they will bring several of the top prospects in the Boston Red Sox organization to downtown Buffalo, including one of the highest rated prospects in all of baseball!

The WooSox boast seven of the organization's top 30 prospects, according to MLB Pipeline. The group is headlined by shortstop Franklin Arias, who is not only is he ranked number one in Boston’s minor league system, but he is also ranked the number three prospect in MLB Pipeline’s Top 100 Prospects.

Arias batted .318 (7-22) with a home run and five RBIs in the Red Sox series against Buffalo at Polar Park in August. The 20-year-old short stop played in all six games in Worcester last month and added three walks as well.

Overall, Arias has averaged .290 in his first 28 games at the Triple-A level with four home runs and 24 RBI.

One of the top defensive shortstops in the 2023 international class, his offensive prowess was a surprise in his first two pro seasons as he hit .350 in his debut in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League and then won MVP and top prospect accolades in the Florida Complex League in 2024 after leading the Rookie circuit in hitting (.355), on-base percentage (.471), slugging (.584) and OPS (1.055).

Right-hander John Holobetz is one of five WooSox pitchers within Boston’s Top 30 and checks in as the number nine prospect. He made two starts against the Bisons and was defeated each time by the team. Holobetz allowed nine earned runs in 12.0 innings against Buffalo.

Three pitchers rank 15th through 17th in the organization’s prospect rankings, including Blake Wehunt sitting at number 15. He is followed by Gage Ziehl and Eduardo Rivera. All three pitched against the Bisons last month, with Rivera making his first career Triple-A start against Buffalo.

Rivera pitched twice in the series, including a relief appearance on August 3 where he took the loss. Both Wehunt and Ziehl worked five innings in their respective starts against Buffalo, but neither were able to secure a victory for Worcester.

Mikey Romero and Jedixson Paez are the final two players among the top 30 Red Sox prospects, according to MLB Pipeline.

Romero has played in parts of all three prior series against the Bisons this season. He is batting .313, 15-48, against the Bisons pitching staff. He has recorded six extra-base hits of his 15 total, with three doubles, a triple, and two home runs. He has also driven in 10 runs out of his 56 total RBIs with Worcester this season.

Paez made his Triple-A debut against the Bisons at Polar Park, the first of his three starts with the WooSox since being promoted from Portland. The righty has worked a total of 12 and one-third innings across his three starts, including five innings against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last week.

The Bisons and Red Sox are playing a six-game series at Sahlen Field beginning on Tuesday night at 6:05 p.m. as part of Buffalo’s penultimate homestand of the 2026 season.