I am doing a series where I offer up three fantasy baseball thoughts for every MLB team. I’ll take a look at under-the-radar stats, playing time projections, projected roles, and off-season news to try and highlight the nuggets that might help you in your 2025 fantasy baseball drafts. We’ll do this thing in alphabetical order and next up are three thoughts for the 2025 Boston Red Sox.
3 Fantasy Baseball Thoughts for the 2025 Boston Red Sox
Don’t Sleep on Trevor Story
We are talking about Trevor Story, so can we really count on him to be healthy? Last year, Story made it through just 26 games after playing 43 and 96 games in the two years prior. It’s also easy to forget that Story is only entering his age-32 season.
Story is currently slotted in to bat cleanup for Boston and he can be drafted after pick-200. In 26 games last year, Story hit .255 with two home runs, 10 RBI, and six stolen bases. When Story last had significant playing time, he had 16 home runs and 13 stolen bases in 94 games. We aren’t going to get the version of Story that we saw in Colorado, but Story shouldn’t be forgotten about as long as he is healthy.
I’ll Take the Cheap Steals from David Hamilton
Once you get past pick-300 in drafts, things truly get interesting. You draft for need, both positional and categorical while searching for upside. Based on what we saw from David Hamilton last season, the middle infielder (he’s eligible at second base and shortstop) can satisfy both of those criteria.
While Hamilton hit .248 in 98 games, he caught our attention by stealing 33 bases. Hamilton has minimal power and eight home runs, but he scored 47 runs last year. Hamilton makes decent contact, 77.2% last year, which allows him to utilize his speed. Throughout his minor league career, Hamilton had double-digit walk rates which leaves him room for improvement after his 6.9% rate last year.
If he continues to receive regular playing time while adding a few more walks to his repertoire, there’s an outside chance we see Hamilton stealing 40 to 50 bases.
Justin Slaten is a Name to Know
At this point, the Red Sox don’t have a clear-cut closer on their roster for 2025. That question will potentially be answered as the off-season progresses, but regardless of how it goes, Justin Slaten should be on our radar.
Last season Slaten picked up two saves, but he played a critical part in Boston’s bullpen. The right-hander struck out more than a batter per inning, 9.46, while minimizing damage across the board. Slaten walked just 1.46 batters per nine innings while doing a great job of keeping the ball in the park. In our current climate, that is an oddity, but it can’t be overlooked.
Not only does Slaten throw with velocity, 96.6 miles per hour, but he also had a ground ball rate of 50%. With that being said, it shouldn’t be a surprise that his ERA was just 2.93 with a FIP of 2.61.
For more of the great fantasy baseball rankings and analysis you’ve come to expect from FantraxHQ, check out our full 2025 Fantasy Baseball Draft Kit! We’re here for you all the way up until Opening Day and then on into your championship run.