The Blue Jays signed the Venezuela native on his 16th birthday, Aug. 29, 2019, but couldn’t give him his pro debut in the Dominican Summer League until 2021 due to the pandemic. Arias was a DSL repeater in 2022 before finally jumping stateside in 2023. His breakout campaign came this summer, when he slashed .279/.386/.464 with eight homers and 17 steals in 76 games for Dunedin, earning Florida State League end-of-season All-Star honors, and finished out the year with High-A Vancouver.
Measuring in at just 5-foot-9, the left-handed slugger has more power than expected for his size, topping out with a 113.4 mph max exit velocity in the FSL and posting an average 104.7 mph EV that ranked in the circuit’s 90th percentile. Utilizing a high leg kick, Arias generates impressive bat speed that leads to the loud contact. His power numbers would be more reflective of that pure pop if not for a 51 percent groundball rate in Single-A, but lifting the ball should come in time. A more pressing issue is his contact rate on balls in the zone, especially breaking pitches low and away. Somewhat surprisingly, Arias handled lefties better than righties in ’24, so at least splits don’t look like an immediate issue.
Arias is an average runner who can handle center field if needed, but subpar arm strength pushed him to left for the lion’s share of his starts this summer. He profiles best in that corner but will need to get the power to translate even more to an everyday player there. Rule 5 Draft-eligible this offseason, Arias isn’t likely to be protected because of his distance from the Majors, but he’s certainly more on the radar now.
