This Red Sox Prediction Has Roman Anthony Winning AL MVP

The Boston Red Sox outfielder has a very bright future with the organization.

Mar 9, 2026; Houston, TX, United States; United States outfielder Roman Anthony (3) celebrates a home run in the third inning against Mexico at Daikin Park. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Roman Anthony hype train left the station in 2025 and is going back. It's just growing more and more and his performance in the World Baseball Classic on the world stage only increased the buzz around the young Boston Red Sox outfielder.

It's important to note that Anthony has just 71 games of big league experience under his belt so far, but that was enough to show the baseball world that he's the real deal. At just 21 years old, Anthony slashed .292/.396/.463 with eight homers, 32 RBIs, four stolen bases, 40 walks, 18 doubles and 48 runs scored while being a 3.1-WAR player. Anthony quickly went from being the team's top prospect, to being at the top of the order in a playoff push. He was great in the WBC as well. He slashed .280/.400/.520 with two homers, seven RBIs, five walks and 10 runs scored in seven games played.

Anthony can seemingly do no wrong and still hasn't even turned 22 years old yet. His rise has been meteoric and it's still going. It's not hard to see all of the hype out there around Anthony. It's pretty clear that people around the league think very highly of him. The upside is limitless, even at such a young age. So much so that while writing up a column of 10 bold predictions for the 2026 season, The Athletic's Eno Sarris predicted that Anthony will be the American League Most Valuable Player.

The future is bright

Mar 15, 2026; Miami, FL, United States; United States left fielder Roman Anthony (3) rounds the bases after hitting a home run in the fourth inning against the Dominican Republic during a semifinal game of the 2026 World Baseball Classic at loanDepot Park. Mandatory Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images | Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

"Roman Anthony wins AL MVP," Sarris wrote. "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. 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. Though the science of giving batters ‘bat path grades’ based on their swing characteristics is in its infancy, Anthony does well there. Over at Driveline Baseball, they used the publicly available Statcast bat-tracking metrics to create a suite of grades evaluating hitters’ swings for their ability to make contact and hit for power, and then in an overall capacity. ... Of course, he also has some commonalities with Jordan Walker. And only two players have ever won the MVP in their second season. That’s what makes this bold."

Now, this is a bold prediction before Opening Day. But it does show how Anthony is viewed around the league. Aaron Judge is obviously still in the American League and is a threat to win the award every year. Cal Raleigh pushed Judge hard for it last season. Vladimir Guerrero Jr. is another superstar in the AL. The list goes on. The fact that Sarris picked Anthony, though, is just another example showing how he is viewed around the league.