Boston Red Sox Hitters of the Month: May 2026

[Alex Mayes]

The end of May is often considered the point in the season where teams solidify their season-long identity. The weather starts to warm up, pitchers have been given enough runway to be fully stretched out, and the injury bug has reared its ugly head across your 26-man roster. Coming into the month, the Boston Red Sox were an awful offensive team; as we turn the corner into the start of Jun,  we see that there are a number of guys who are starting to find their footing and contributing in a major way on the offensive side of the baseball.

So, let's give some flowers to the team's best hitters from last month.

Ranking Red Sox's Best Hitters in May

Honorable Mention: Connor Wong

May Stats: .276 AVG, .344 OBP, .379 SLG, 33.3 K%, 6.1 BB%, .103 ISO, 102 wRC+

Clocking in at just 33 plate appearances, Wong’s name on this list may be a bit of a surprise, but he’s been quietly good when he’s been given a chance to start behind the dish. He drove in six runners during the month in his limited capacity. It seems as though he will be splitting time behind the plate with Mickey Gasper to catch the Red Sox’s left-handed starters for the time being, so it’s likely he won’t get another shot to crack a hitters of the month article unless he heats up to the point Chad Tracy can’t ignore or the season falls completely off the rails. The home run line rules in Cleveland robbed us of Wong’s first home run in a year and a half and for that, we’re annoyed. Good on you, Connor, for showing everyone that last year was hopefully the absolute basement floor of your professional career and that we're climbing back to something that this team can be excited about.

#3: Ceddanne Rafaela

May Stats: .286 AVG, .346 OBP, .480 SLG, 19.6 K%, 6.5 BB%, .194 ISO, 127 wRC+

Rafaela has been the best offensive version of himself all season in 2026. In May, he put up a fantastic slash line while homering four times, driving in 13 runners, and swiping six bases. Most impressive, though, are his strikeout and walk rates for the month. We all know that Rafaela has struggled with swinging too freely at non-competitive pitches throughout his career. Over the offseason, he made a concerted effort to fix the holes in his swing and it is paying dividends so far. He’s striking out less than 20 percent of the time and taking walks when he needs to. Chad Tracy has moved him to the two hole in the lineup and he’s come through in big spots already and looks comfortable hitting at the top of the lineup. His Gold Glove defense has been his calling card but if the offensive uptick sticks, and it looks like it’s going to, then Rafaela should be headed to Philadelphia in July to represent the Red Sox in the Midsummer Classic.

#2: Willson Contreras

May Stats: .315 AVG, .394 OBP, .528 SLG, 21.2 K%, 8.7 BB%, .213 ISO, 151 wRC+

Contreras is the driving force on the offensive side of the baseball for the Red Sox. He’s on pace for a career year in home runs, slugging four in May, and until others started to heat up, he was pretty much the only person you’d assume would come through in a big moment at the plate. He helps to spark the offense with his fiery attitude and he’s shouldered the pressure of being an offensive leader in Boston with ease. Through May, he’s logged 104 plate appearances, driven in 13 runners, and even swiped one base. He logged his 1000th hit earlier in the month after he legged out a triple (he hit two of those in May) and he got on base four times after being hit by a pitch.  He’s had some issues with his hand barking a couple of times, so Tracy has had to sit him after a run of consecutive starts, but managing that is going to be part of keeping him in the lineup as much as possible this season. If he were to go down with an injury, the offense looks pretty bleak.

#1: Jarren Duran

May Stats: .261 AVG, .331 OBP, .548 SLG, 29.2 K%, 8.5 BB%, .287 ISO, 137 wRC+

I’ll gladly admit that I’m letting the end of the month absolutely carry Duran to the top spot on this list. For the majority of the season so far, Duran has looked lost at the plate and overmatched during most at-bats. Some of that can likely be attributed to his inconsistent playing time under Alex Cora and the logjam in the outfield that Craig Breslow has yet to figure out, but the injury to Roman Anthony opened the door for Duran to play daily in the outfield and that seems to have sparked a turnaround for him. He’s tinkered with his plate approach, alternating between his leg kick and a toe tap again, but seems to have landed on keeping the kick and that has impacted his timing in a positive way. He went on a homer tear to end the month, launching nine in total in May while driving in 22 runs and stealing five bases. He’s been back in the leadoff spot and seems to finally be settling down there. Yes, he still has a strikeout problem, but he’s starting to draw walks again and when he’s on base he’s a threat to score from first. Duran coming into form should hopefully mean that the Red Sox are primed to start winning more games.

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