Home is important to Franklin Arias. Just 20 years old, he left Charallave, Venezuela, when he was 17 to begin his professional baseball journey. First, there was a season with the Boston Red Sox team in the Dominican Summer League in 2023, then a climb through the Red Sox minor league system beginning in 2024.

The shortstop is now in Double-A with the Portland Sea Dogs, but Charallave is in his heart.

“We all take care of each other. We all love each other. We all look out for one another,” Arias said through Portland pitching coach Juan Rivera, who translated from Spanish. “It’s a big baseball town. We love baseball, and we want to take care of one another.”

Representing Charallave with pride by playing his best is important to Arias, ranked the No. 2 prospect in Boston’s system by both MLB Pipeline (which ranks him the No. 28 prospect in the game) and soxprospects.com behind Payton Tolle, a mountain of a left-handed pitcher.

That’s why, in January, Arias was back in Charallave, working with youth ballplayers, and handing out new equipment to all. The event is chronicled on his Instagram feed. With help from New Balance and SSK Baseball, Arias handed out cleats, socks, gloves, and even new bases for the field.

In every photo, Arias is smiling and wearing a Sea Dogs cap. In videos, he’s there making sure every kid gets new gear, or he’s signing autographs. He’s passing the game along. Keep that passion for baseball, he told the kids. Keep a passion for something, and drive toward it.

“I’ve seen other (players) do similar things, but I’d like to give credit to my mom and my dad, the way we were raised, to be proud of the area that you’re from, and to give back to the area that you’re from. That’s kind of the main inspiration,” Arias said.

As a player, the 5-foot-11, 170-pound Arias wields a slick glove and a fast bat. Brian Abraham, the Red Sox director of player development, praised Arias’ offseason work to get bigger so he can take more impact swings. Sea Dogs manager Chad Epperson is impressed by how seriously Arias is starting to take the things off the field that help determine what happens on it, like the weight room and nutrition.

Arias’ first visit to the United States was when he arrived to play rookie ball in 2024. Tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela are perpetually high, but that’s politics, not people.

The people at every stop on his minor league journey, from Fort Myers, Florida, to Portland, are the reason the culture shocks that come with being in a country where you’re learning the language are just mild tremors.

“But human beings are still the same. You look out for everybody when you’re at home. You have everybody’s back. It’s the same thing here. Even though the culture’s different, we’re still people. We’ve still got each other’s back,” Arias said. “The same love I was feeling at home is the same love I’m feeling in the United States.”

Arias got a taste of Double-A at the end of last season. In 10 games with Portland, he hit a pair of home runs and drove in eight. He saw Portland in its late-summer best. He missed the raw early spring games.

“I want to see snow, but at the same time, I don’t. I understand being in Boston, I may have to play in the cold,” he said. “So I’d rather see it now this year than all of a sudden see it at the big league level.”

The big league level is on Arias’ radar. The main focus entering this season is to take advantage of every opportunity, he said.

“That’s No. 1. So play hard, play as well as I possibly can, but the goal for this calendar year is, can I push the envelope and become a big leaguer,” he said.

Venezuelan baseball is having a moment right now. A team that included Red Sox right fielder Wilyer Abreu and first baseman Wilson Contreras won its first World Baseball Championship last month. The next WBC isn’t until 2030. Arias would like to be in the lineup. He watched the championship game against the U.S. in Fort Myers with some Venezuelan teammates. On the Sea Dogs roster, he’s joined by three countrymen: catcher Ronald Rosario, and infielders Marvin Alcantara and Ahbram Liendo.

“It’s a unique moment. We celebrated and had a good time. It’s a moment we really wanted to cherish,” Arias said.

When you’re representing your hometown and country, there’s a lot to cherish.