PORTLAND, ME. — As Anthony Eyanson threw a bullpen session for Double-A Portland on June 18, the 21-year-old right-handed pitcher was all business.
Afterward, the Boston Red Sox No. 2 ranked prospect was all smiles as he navigates his first year in professional baseball.
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“It’s been great. Everything that I could’ve imagined,” said Eyanson, who was drafted in the third round of the 2025 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox. “Just really blessed to be in this position (of) playing baseball as my job. It’s a dream job (since) I was a kid and being able to live that out means the world.”
With the Worcester Red Sox playing on the road last week and the Portland Sea Dogs hosting a series at Hadlock Field, and the MLB Draft coming up in less than three weeks, the T&G traveled to Maine to catch up with some of the Red Sox’ top prospects who could find themselves playing for Triple-A Worcester before the end of the season (or early next year).
Let’s get to know some of those players:
Boston Red Sox top prospect Franklin Arias walks out to the field ahead of a Double-A Portland Sea Dogs game on June 18, 2026 at Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine.
Franklin Arias
Perhaps nobody in the Red Sox farm system had a better start this season than Franklin Arias.
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The 20-year-old shortstop, who was signed as an international free agent by the Boston Red Sox in 2023 and was called up to Double-A Portland last September, hit .375 with 8 home runs and 20 RBIs in April and was named Eastern League Player of the Month.
“Seeing him grow up and how each year he’s getting exponentially better in all different areas, how much more physical he is, how he’s been able to drive the baseball, the baseballs he’s getting to defensively, and then even just how attentive he is to the game has been really impressive for a young guy,” Sea Dogs acting manager Kyle Sasala said. “He can do things that you just can’t teach.”
Franklin Arias poses for a picture inside the walls at Fenway Park on Jan. 13, 2026.
Listed as the Red Sox’ No. 1 prospect by Baseball America, Arias is slashing .315 on the season with 14 HR and 36 RBIs. He went 3 for 5 with a home run and two runs scored in the Sea Dogs last game on June 21.
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After hitting 8 homers across three levels (Single-A, High-A and Double-A) last year, Arias has found a power surge at the plate this season while working on his “swing decisions” with Portland.
“When you’re hot, you just feel great. You feel excellent when you enter that box it’s almost (like) when the game ends, you just want to keep going and have more at-bats that night,” said Arias through translator and Portland pitching coach Juan Rivera. “It’s been a good year.”
Red Sox top pitching prospect Anthony Eyanson gets ready to throw a pitch during a Double-A Portland Sea Dogs game earlier this year.
Anthony Eyanson
Since his call up from High-A Greenville to Double-A Portland on May 5, Eyanson continues to rise up the Red Sox’ prospect rankings.
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Currently listed as Boston’s No. 2 prospect, the former LSU pitcher has impressed in his first year with the organization.
“What he’s done on the mound kind of speaks for itself, but the things that they’ve raved about was the person that he is, and he’s definitely done that in Portland as well,” Sasala said. “He’s an awesome pitcher with multiple pitches that he can throw for strikes in any count, but the person behind the athlete is what makes him really special with how he goes about his business, how selfless and gracious he is with his time.
“He’s definitely a unique blend of person and phenomenal athlete.”
Red Sox top pitching prospect Anthony Eyanson gets ready to throw a pitch during a Double-A Portland Sea Dogs game earlier this year.
After making five starts with the Drive, Eyanson has now made six starts with the Sea Dogs.
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The 6-foot-2, 208-pound righty is 2-0 with a 1.00 ERA and 62 strikeouts across 45 innings pitched (11 starts). The Red Sox are being cautious with his pitch count in his first season inside the organization.
“I’m doing what’s working for me,” Eyanson told the T&G.
Eyanson has seen an uptick in his velocity (gaining about 10 pounds since leaving LSU) and has developed a “vertical” arsenal that includes an above average slider and curveball to pair with his plus offering of a fastball.
“You just don’t see pitchers with that kind of arsenal. He’s a guy that can climb the velo ladder, but then also is a guy that can sink it, run it,” Sasala said. “But his ability to be able to command the strike zone with multiple pitches and then even just the swings that other teams put on him is just very different than the other guys that we sometimes will have pitching.
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“It’s just they’re not used to seeing that type of arsenal.”
Johanfran Garcia smiles during a Double-A Portland Sea Dogs game on June 18, 2026 at Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine.
Johanfran Garcia
While his older brother, Jhostynxon, also known as “The Password,” got much of the fanfare last season (before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the offseason), Johanfran Garcia is starting to grab some of the spotlight this year.
A 21-year-old catcher, who the Red Sox signed out of Venezuela in 2022, Garcia was promoted to Double-A Portland from High-A Greenville on April 21.
Red Sox catching prospect Johanfran Garcia looks on during a Double-A Portland Sea Dogs game on June 18, 2026 at Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine.
Garcia has hit. 305 with 11 HR and 33 RBIs in 164 at-bats and 40 games for the Sea Dogs this season.
“Seen a lot of maturity and growth from him, from spring training till now,” Sasala said. “Once you get to AA, AAA, and then obviously the big leagues, you definitely have autonomy. So, he’s done a really nice job of taking responsibility. There are still areas that we’re working on, but he’s done an excellent job there. From the baseball side of things, he’s a special blend of personality — people love being around him — and he’s got a really good arm behind the plate, blocks really well and then his power. You don’t see guys that can hit the ball that hard like him.”
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Garcia, who suffered a significant right knee injury in 2024, says he feels 100 percent and is in a good spot for the rest of the season. The player they call “The Username” is trying to simplify the game as much as possible while continuing to make good swing decisions in two-strike counts.
As for his nickname, which was coined in congruence with his older brother’s?
“It’s funny that my brother got ‘The Password’ first and then over time people started calling me ‘The Username’ on social media,” Garcia said. “So, it’s funny, but I love the name. It just feels like you’re being supported.”
Red Sox pitching prospect Hayden Mullins throws a pitch during the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs game on June 18, 2026 at Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine.
Hayden Mullins
Another Red Sox pitching prospect with a Major League mustache (think Payton Tolle), Hayden Mullins continues to grow on the mound with the Sea Dogs.
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Following a 2025 campaign that saw him get promoted to Double-A Portland and then go 7-2 with a 2.44 ERA and 96 strikeouts across 84.2 IP for the Sea Dogs, Mullins has seen his ERA uptick a bit the past month as he continues to try to add size and velocity.
Red Sox pitching prospect Hayden Mullins walks out to the field ahead of a Double-A Portland Sea Dogs game on June 18, 2026 at Hadlock Field in Portland, Maine.
“He does a really nice job of preparing himself in between starts,” Sasala said. “He’s professional in the way that he goes about his business.”
The 6-foot, 194-pound Mullins, who was drafted in the 12th round by the Red Sox in 2022 and is listed as the organization’s 14th-best prospect, is 3-1 this year with a 5.14 ERA and 65 strikeouts across 42 IP and 10 appearances.
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“Now, just looking for the consistency that really good players have and tend to take,” Sasala said. “So, being able to make start after start consistently, knowing exactly what you’re going to get out of him, commanding the strike zone, throwing multiple pitches for strikes, being efficient with his pitches, like those are things that he’s done a nice job of and we want to continue to do.”
—Contact Tommy Cassell at tcassell@telegram.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @tommycassell44.
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Red Sox farm report: These Portland players could play in AAA this year
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