Top 5 Bold Red Sox Season Predictions in Honor of Opening Day

Opening Day is a celebratory occasion, so there's no better time than to put some predictions on paper.

The Boston Red Sox have high expectations, but in a brutally competitive American League East, they also have plenty of questions to answer. Not all felt that they did enough to improve their offense this offseason, and Thursday begins the process of finding out if those naysayers were right.

Encompassing some good and some bad, here are five things that aren't obvious by any means that we believe will happen throughout the course of this Red Sox campaign.

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Connelly Early is a top-three starter in the rotation

Early wasn't even expected to be on the opening day roster until earlier this week, when it became clear that Brayan Bello's and Ranger Suárez's irregular build-ups during the World Baseball Classic were giving the team some pause.

For this prediction to come true, assuming Garrett Crochet still leads the staff, Early has to be better (or healthier) than two of Bello, Suárez, and Sonny Gray. A tall task for a 23-year-old, but this youngster has passed every test thus far.

Wilyer Abreu hits 35-plus home runs

Abreu only hit 22 home runs last season, sure, but 20 of them came in his first 86 games. The Red Sox had only played 101 games to that point, so if he'd held the same pace, he would have had... 35 home runs.

We saw in the World Baseball Classic what sort of electrifying charge Abreu can put into the ball in big moments. It's time for him to do that with much more consistency in his third full year for Boston.

The Red Sox's best infielder is...

Marcelo Mayer, at least in terms of wins above replacement. And that's not to discredit Caleb Durbin, Willson Contreras, or Trevor Story, all of whom could have 3-WAR seasons.

Mayer has lived in the shadow of Roman Anthony for too many consecutive months at this point not to have at least a small chip on his shoulder. And he just spent the spring hearing about how he still had to earn his job, which only has to make him hungrier to prove he can be a star.

Carlos Narváez struggles, Red Sox think about catchers at deadline

No one likes picking regression candidates, but the Red Sox have a few. On offense, expecting Narváez to be league-average again has long felt risky, when it was really one big month of May that buoyed him to that 100 OPS+ he finished with.

If Narváez is around an 85 this time around, he won't be at risk of losing his roster spot, but the Red Sox could certainly look for more reliable bats if they're available at the deadline. Off the top of the head, injured Atlanta Braves All-Star Sean Murphy is worth bookmarking.

Red Sox win American League pennant for first time since 2018

Sep 26, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Red Sox manager Alex Cora (13) addresses the team after they clinched a playoff spot after their game against the Detroit Tigers at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

There are other teams in the AL with more offensive firepower, especially if we're going by home run potential. But there are lots of hitters who can take steps forward this year, and from a pitching perspective, it's hard to beat the Red Sox's depth.

We didn't get to see the Red Sox go on a deep playoff run last year, but who knows how different things might have looked if Anthony hadn't gotten injured? If the Red Sox can get both him and Marcelo Mayer healthy to October, the lineup might be the best in the Junior Circuit, one through nine.