As we’re about to flip the calendars into 2026, it’s never too early to discuss breakout candidates around the MLB. Regarding the Boston Red Sox, it’s no surprise that Roman Anthony was selected as their 2026 breakout candidate. The Red Sox’s No. 1 prospect, and all of MLB for the matter, lived up to the hype, even if it was for 71 games in 2025. After making his MLB debut on June 9, against the Tampa Bay Rays, until his injury on Sept. 2, he was nothing short of what everyone expected from the 21-year-old.
That being said, what is being said about Anthony as to why he will be the Red Sox’s breakout candidate in 2026 after a promising, yet short, rookie season?
Roman Anthony Reign Supreme
GettyBoston Red Sox outfielder Roman Anthony
On MLB.com, all of the beat writers selected who their team’s breakout candidate will be in 2026. According to Ian Browne, it was a no brainer to pick Anthony for the Red Sox. Browne wrote, “Over a full, 162-game season, Anthony has all the tools and maturity to turn into an elite player. He is a left-handed hitter who has no problem hitting against lefties. He has a perfect blend of patience and power at the plate. Just how much power Anthony grows into in his first full season will determine his level of impact. Defensively, he can play an above average left and right field.”
When glancing at Anthony’s splits against lefties and righties, it’s a fair assessment that he has no problem hitting, no matter the pitcher. Against lefties, he went 25-for-90 in 98 plate appearances, hitting .278, with a slash line of .337/.443/.770 over the 71 games last season. When facing righties, Anthony was 50-for-167 in 205 plate appearances, hitting .299. His slash line came out to .424/.479/.903. While it shows that he can hit righties at an almost .300 clip, he is not that far off against lefties.
Anthony hit four home runs, had 11 RBIs, eight walks, and two doubles against lefties, while compared to righties, he hit four home runs, had 21 RBIs, 32 walks, and 16 doubles. When breaking it all down, Anthony offensively is someone who can be elite at the plate. While he had a slow June, hitting only .210, from July until early September, he never dipped below .300. He went .329 in July, .304 in August, and .375 in September (three hits in eight at-bats). Moreover, Pre All-Star Break, Anthony had a .264 average, compared to Post All-Star when he went .311.
What can people learn from Roman Anthony’s 2025 rookie season, to see what they are in store for in 2026?
Learning from 2025 to Prepare for 2026
During the 2025 season, Anthony had a .292 average, with eight home runs, 32 RBIs, 18 doubles, one triple, 40 walks, and was 3.1 wins above replacement (WAR). It’s something to consider when seeing Anthony being a 3.1 WAR player in only 71 games played, following a call-up in June. Moreover, he even finished with a 140 OPS+. His slash line for over the 71 games came out to a .396/.463/.859. All of that while being the mainstay as the Red Sox’s leadoff hitter. Despite the slow start following his call-up, it seemed as the season went on that Anthoiny was getting comfortable and into a groove at the top of the lineup.
Another stat that makes Anthony such a good player, who could become elite, is his walk rate. David Schoenfield of ESPN noted one key stat for every American League team in 2025 that could make-or-break them in 2026. The stat for the Red Sox? Anthony’s walk rate. He finished the 2025 season with a 13.2% walk rate, and this is before the implementation of ABS (automated balls and strikes), which should raise that number significantly.
Anthony did not catch the benefit of the doubt of low pitches in the zone for most games. When looking back at the tracker some pitches that were called “strikes”, were actually balls. Now with ABS coming to the MLB in 2026, expect Anthony to win a majority of those close calls, and maybe collect more than the 40 walks he got in 2025.
Joining Some Good Company
When discussing Anthony’s walk rate, Schoenfield mentioned some interesting names, “Since 2000, only four players have had a better walk rate at age 21 or younger — Juan Soto, Mike Trout, Jason Heyward and Adam Dunn. Just behind Anthony on that list are Justin Upton, Bryce Harper, Cody Bellinger and Giancarlo Stanton.” That’s some pretty good company to be in for Anthony, who is posed for a stellar sophomore season in the Majors.
For added flavor, Schoenfield also mentioned something extra about Anthony’s hard-hit rate, “Anthony’s hard-hit rate — balls hit at 95-plus mph — was 60.3%, which ranked as the highest percentage in the majors among players with at least 100 batted balls, just ahead of Kyle Schwarber, Shohei Ohtani and Aaron Judge. That’s pretty good company also.”
It’s fair enough to say that Anthony will be someone to watch in 2026, regardless of if people are Red Sox fans or not. He’s the No. 1 prospect in all of baseball for a reason. If his 71-game rookie season in 2025 was just the appetizer, get ready for the main course in 2026.
Roman Anthony Selected as Red Sox’s 2026 Breakout Candidate