Article: Boston Red Sox Major League Hitter of the Year (2025)

[Alex Mayes]

The 2025 season brought many highs and lows for the Boston Red Sox, especially on offense. Torrid cold streaks lead to some of the hottest hitting in the league, rookies stormed onto the scene and proved that they are actually the future of the organization, and then some hitters didn’t show up until the summer and failed to produce any meaningful at-bats until the season was on the line in September. The offense was a mixed bag for much of the season, ultimately finishing seventh in runs scored (786).

With the year now over, let’s take a look at the top offensive players for the Boston Red Sox for the 2025 season. Note that this only includes regular season stats; the playoff series versus the Yankees didn't factor into our rankings.

Honorable Mention: Roman Anthony

The rookie phenom likely would have commanded one of the spots on this list had an oblique injury not ended his season in early September. He was on an absolute tear after getting moved to the leadoff position in the lineup. He slashed .292/.396/.463 on the season with eight home runs and 32 RBIs. His command of the strike zone allowed him to work walks even when under immense pressure to produce at the plate. Most fans anticipated more power from Anthony, but that typically down the road as players fully adjust to major league pitching. Had Anthony been called up earlier in the season, he may have discovered his power stroke before the year was out, and he certainly would have been in contention with Nick Kurtz for AL Rookie of the Year.

Roman Anthony is a building block for this team—maybe even the cornerstone piece. Expect to see him lead lists like this throughout his entire tenure with the Red Sox.

#3: Ceddanne Rafaela

Rafaela may not have the flashiest numbers, but he produced all season long. He played in 156 games and slashed .249/.295/.414 with a .708 OPS and 4.8 WAR. It’s absolutely true that his plate discipline is not great, but he made improvements where it mattered. When he slumped as the season drew to a close, we saw him chasing more unhittable pitches as he was trying anything to contribute.

He lands at third on this list because is there wasn't a more clutch hitter on this roster. Rafaela was the big hit, walk-off guy for this club. When he stepped to the plate with the game on the line, the energy was different. Much like he touts in his celebration, he developed ice in his veins and never saw a moment too big for him. His confidence and swagger when he would answer questions with ‘I was trying to go deep’ can’t be replicated. Would it be nice to see some more week-to-week consistency from him? Sure, but 99% of fans will take a .250 average to go along with the biggest clutch gene on the team while he plays Platinum Glove caliber defense.

#2: Jarren Duran

Duran has had a sneaky good year in 2025. He’s been much maligned by writers, including me, for how he seemingly doesn’t fit on the roster as the outfield mix continues to grow, but he put together a season that helped propel the team to the postseason. He slashed .256/.332/.442 with 16 home runs, 84 RBIs, and 24 stolen bases. He put his speed to good use as he also hit 13 triples on the season.

That being said, this was far from the season everyone expected from Duran. While a repeat of his 2024 season was likely always out of reach, this campaign feels like somewhat of a disappointment for the outfielder. He contributed, no doubt, but constant tinkering with his swing led to him taking longer to find his offensive stride. He developed more swing and miss this season than he seemed to have had since his initial call up in 2021. Still though, his offensive performance helped the Red Sox reach the Wild Card Riybd. The team seemed to go as he went on offense, at least between the periods when Anthony was healthy and in the big leagues. When he was hot, so was the rest of the lineup. When he slumped, the team struggled to find their footing. Duran was a crucial part of the 2025 team, even if his numbers fell from last season.

#1: Trevor Story

I know, here we are again. As the conductor of the ‘Trevor Story Shouldn’t be in Boston’ train for the bulk of the season, I can acknowledge that without him, this team would have been in deep trouble. He slashed .263/.308/.433 on the season with 25 home runs, 96 RBIs, and 31 stolen bases.

The 2025 campaign was his first fully healthy season since signing in Boston and he made the most of it. Yes, he’s going to swing on low and away sliders like his life depends on it, but more often than not, you feel good when he’s at the plate (which is a far cry from how things felt in May, speaking to his incredible turnaround). His ability to swipe bags with ease makes him dangerous if he gets on first, and he still has the motor to go first to third on a single to right field. Offensively, this year he has been as promised for the Red Sox. To end the season, he moved up to the number two slot in the lineup and he performed incredibly well there. Keeping Story healthy and allowing him to contribute even when multiple people were calling for his demotion was paramount for success in Boston in 2025.

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Honestly, we could rank the entire lineup here and have mainly positive things to say about each and every one of the players. Without these four, though, there’s little chance this team would have gotten to the postseason at all. I never thought I’d credit Trevor Story with being the biggest offensive presence for the Red Sox, but I’m glad to have been proven wrong. Each one of these names made it possible for fans to enjoy meaningful baseball in September (and a few games in October).

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[TedYazPapiMookie]

What a misrepresentation of the 2025 season!!

Start with a pathetic manager who has no idea how to set a batting order.  He refuses to use concepts that worked for 100 years so he builds an ever-changing line-up that is as inconsistent in performance as it is in showing logic.  There is NO single greatest season long "star" hitter on this team.  If you think about how the season went there are simply many players who got hot for short times but none that performed consistently

Story sucked early then performed well the last four months.  Bregman started fast then got hurt and tailed off at the end of the season.  Anthony spent weeks struggling in the 3-hole while hurting the team but eventually proved to be excellent after moving to the lead-off spot.  Then he got hurt and missed the rest of the year.  Campbell smoked the ball for a month and then fell off the table.  Duran looked good in for the first two months then fell off and came back with a flurry in July and once again dropped off the rest of the season.  Rafaela started slowly then hit over .280 for June and July then struggled in August and rebounded in September but was position so low in the order his impact was minimized by Cora.

There was no top hitter in 2025 but there were roughly 9 that were better than Devers in 2025!!!

This was a true team effort with as many as 12 hitters all contributing significantly for short spurts.

Based on location in the batting order seeing Story with 91 R, 25 HR, 96 RBIs and 31 SBs make sense to be a potential candidate for best offensive player.  If his performance hadn't been so concentrated in the last part of the season only, he would have gotten the nod from me.  Bregman may have carried the team as much as Story despite not having the same volume of stats.  Likewise, Anthony carried the team for a significant time period as well while the scrubs were responsible for allowing the team to win with their unlikely hits.  Duran's 86 R, 13 triples, 16 HRs, 84 RBIs and 24 SBs are impressive considering Cora screwed him over by dropping him in the order far too many times.  Rafaela with 84 R, 16 HR, 63 RBI and 20 SBs but having an extraordinary set of clutch at bats leading to wins puts him in the running for the most influential hitter for 2025.

I say, as always, trying to over measure data to create lists is a very silly exercise.  Can't we just enjoy the fact that an average team over performed and made the season far more enjoyable for Red Sox fans than was expected during Spring Training?  The metric generation simply doesn't understand the true value of baseball.