Boston Red Sox Hitters of the Month, July 2026: MVP Performances Up and Down the Roster

[Alex Mayes]

July was a month of extreme highs for the Boston Red Sox, something that very few of us would have predicted when the month started. On July 4, the team was 10 games below .500 and seemed like they had completely lost the plot. They looked uninspired after dropping an easily winnable series against the Rockies in Denver.

Then, something changed. The team had an awful time getting back to Boston for a four-game series against the Yankees and it really seemed like something clicked on that return flight. They rattled off the best record in baseball over the month, including tying a franchise-high winning streak of 15 games. While the entire lineup contributed each game, there were three players who stood head and shoulders above the rest.

Ranking Red Sox's Best Hitters In July

#3. Caleb Durbin

Arguably, there is no other member of the Boston Red Sox whose season mirrors the overall team. Durbin was awful for the first two months of his career and then magically, after dislocating his finger on a headfirst slide into first during the Rockies series, became a completely different hitter during the following Yankees series.

In July, Durbin slashed .284/.382/.420 with a .360 wOBA, 128 wRC+, and a 0.9 fWAR. He slugged three home runs, scored 18 times, drove in nine runs, and swiped three bags. Those numbers, outside of his slash line, don’t scream top-three hitter, but if you watched the games then you saw the injection of energy that Durbin provided in July. He’s quickly become a fan favorite and it really seems like this offensive turnaround is something to buy into. That, combined with his Gold Glove-caliber defense, means that the hot corner has been settled for the foreseeable future in Boston.

#2: Ceddanne Rafaela

I’ll go ahead and tell you that less than a week into the month of August, you should expect to see this name at the top of the list at the end of this month. Rafaela has been on an absolute tear this summer and it seems to have been spurred by him finally making his first All-Star team.

For the month of July, he slashed .303/.321/.523 with a .362 wOBA, a 129 wRC+, and a 1.2 fWAWR. To go along with that staggering line, he clobbered five home runs, scored 17 runs, drove in 19 runs, and swiped five bags. Rafaela is playing the best baseball of his career and has thrived as both the number two and number five hole hitter all summer.

He’s still not drawing a ton of walks, working just a 2.7% walk rate in July, but he’s getting on base with the bat at such a clip that walks really don’t matter in his current offensive approach. He’s re-introduced a bit of his swing and miss back into his at-bats lately, but that problem hasn't been as egregious this season. While he’s coming through in clutch moments and hitting the ball hard, he hasn’t shied away from the small ball approach that the team has been using as of late either. He’s arguably the best center fielder in baseball and now that his bat is catching up to his defensive standing, he’s going to make the extension he signed continue to look like an absolute bargain.

#1: Willson Contreras

I’ve grown fond of calling Contreras the lifeblood of this team, and I’m going to continue to do so. He is the presence every contending squad needs. It’s obvious his teammates love him by how often you see guys like Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, and even Roman Anthony around him.

For July, he slashed .323/..488/.629 with a .475 wOBA, 208 wRC+, and a 1.1 fWAR. To go along with that, he hit five home runs, scored 14 times, drove in 14 runs, and even swiped a bag. He did all of that while being suspended for four games in the middle of the month to boot. While Durbin’s ascent to offensive workhorse has mirrored what the team has been doing, Contreras has been better than advertised since day one. He is the absolute perfect fit at first base for this team and even said he wants to remain in Boston for the rest of his career. If he keeps hitting like this, I think it's safe to say we all want the same.

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