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The Athletic makes bold Roman Anthony prediction for 2026 season
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- The Athletic makes bold Roman Anthony prediction for 2026 season
Roman Anthony played in just 71 games last season before an oblique injury ended his 2025 campaign prematurely . But there are big expectations for the the Boston Red Sox star going into 2026.
The Athletic's Eno Sarris released his Top 10 bold predictions for the upcoming MLB season and atop the list was Anthony winning the American League MVP.
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"The one knock on Anthony as a Boston Red Sox prospect was that he hit too many ground balls. That was definitely true at the lowest levels, but then he went to work on his swing path and hit a few more balls in the air at every level he reached," Sarris wrote . "Still, a 50 percent ground-ball rate doesn't seem to presage a big power hitter.
"That notwithstanding, he swings the bat really hard, and when he does put the ball in the air, it goes really far," the analysis continued . "Though the science of giving batters 'bat path grades' based on their swing characteristics is in its infancy, Anthony does well there."
Anthony was called up to Boston in June and provided an offensive spark for the lineup before he got hurt. The outfielder was batting .292 with eight home runs and 32 RBI. He was a big reason for the Red Sox' offensive turnaround in June.
Anthony ranked first in the American League in multi-hit games (24), third in on-base percentage (.421) and hits (68), fourth in average (.329) and seventh in OPS (.933) in a 54-game stretch.
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After his showing in the World Baseball Classic that included making history on different occasions throughout the tournament, Anthony has even more expectations surrounding him for the 2026 season. The Red Sox didn't sign a bonafide power bat after losing Alex Bregman in free agency, and it's possible Anthony could provide some of that power as the leadoff hitter.
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