September, the regular season's final month, is only days away. Come Sept. 1, teams can add two players to the roster (no more than one additional pitcher) to help get through the last few weeks as workloads climb and injuries mount. Teams used to be able to call up their entire 40-man roster in September, but that rule went away a few years ago.
Now it's only two extra players. The extra roster spots give contenders a chance to strengthen their bench and bullpen, and rebuilders a chance to get a prospect's feet wet. That is already happening, in fact.
Within the last month, top prospects Kade Anderson (Mariners), Max Clark (Tigers), Kaelen Culpepper (Twins), George Lombard Jr. (Yankees), and others were summoned and thrown into the postseason race. With that in mind, here are five prospects who could come up when rosters expand on Sept. 1, and potentially impact the division and wild-card races. Here are our preseason top 100 prospect rankings, for reference.
Let's get to it now, shall we? How they got him: Arias, 21 in November, signed as an international amateur free agent out of Venezuela in January 2023. At least 60 players received a larger signing bonus than Arias' $525,000 deal, though he is now arguably the best prospect in the minors.
His season to date: It has been a standout showing for the right-handed hitter. He reached Triple-A as a 20-year-old late last month and took a .314/.397/.564 batting line across Double-A and Triple-A into Wednesday. Arias has 23 home runs with an excellent 15.1% strikeout rate.
Add in strong defense, and Arias has excelled on both sides of the ball this year. He's a star in the making. FRANKLIN ARIAS LEADOFF HOMER! pic.twitter.com/idzYpGCC4d How he fits: Thanks mostly to Andruw Monasterio, the Red Sox have received strong play from their shortstops this season.
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