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Is Roman Anthony already one of the best corner outfielders in baseball?
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- Is Roman Anthony already one of the best corner outfielders in baseball?
Roman Anthony has just 71 games of major league experience, but he’s still getting attention nationally as one of the top outfielders going into 2026 season.
ESPN’s MLB Insider Buster Olney released his ranking of top corner outfielders Wednesday morning, and the Boston Red Sox made the list.
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Olney had the following to say about Anthony, who ranked at No. 7, as he enters his sophomore season:
“Boston manager Alex Cora has already announced that he intends to keep Anthony in the leadoff spot, a nod to his ability to get on base — he had a .396 OBP in his rookie season — and to give him as many plate appearances as possible. Some evaluators believe that the Red Sox would be best served to keep Anthony in center field, but Cora is blessed with an abundance of outfield riches, with Ceddanne Rafaela patrolling center field, Gold Glover Wilyer Abreu in right and Jarren Duran in left.
“Anthony started 32 games in right field last year, 17 in left and another 17 games at DH. But his best position, some evaluators say, is in center. ”He really does have incredible instincts out there," said one, before mentioning that Anthony would benefit from playing as much as possible and collecting experience in Fenway’s quirky center field."
Along with mentioning Abreu and Duran in the Anthony’s section, Olney gave both of them honorable mentions on his list.
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Aaron Judge ( New York Yankees ), Juna Soto ( New York Mets ) and Corbin Carroll ( Arizona Diamondbacks ) made up the top three on the list.
Anthony finished his rookie season with 257 at-bats and a 3.1 WAR. He had a slash of .292/.396/.463 and had 32 RBIs in 71 total games.
Over the weekend, Cora named Anthony the leadoff hitter for a very simple reason .
“It can be 1-0 very quick or it’s a quality at-bat,” Cora said.
Anthony has already gotten reps in spring training in the lead-off spot. He will leave camp early to join Team USA in the World Baseball Classic.
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