Is Wilyer Abreu an emerging Red Sox star?

The Boston Red Sox closed out their second series victory in a row with an 18-7 win over the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday, completing their first weekend sweep of the season. Prior to their home opener on Friday, the Sox were sitting near the bottom of the AL east with a 3-4 record. On Monday morning, they find themselves with a 6-4 record and second to only the Yankees in the division (0.5 games back).

Through 10 games, the unexpected star of the show for the Red Sox has been right fielder Wilyer Abreu, who has dominated at the plate and in the field. Batting .483 with a .595 on-base percentage -- both franchise records for the first 10 games of the season, minimum 25 plate appearances -- the 25-year-old Abreu leads the majors in almost every batting category in 2025. His .483/.595/.897 slash line is tops in baseball across the board.

Abreu came up clutch for the Red Sox in both games of Sunday's doubleheader against the Cardinals. He particularly stood out in the first game when he came in to pinch hit, after being scheduled to sit out, and roped a walk-off single off the Green Monster in extra innings. He followed it up by going 2-for-6 at the plate with three RBIs in the night game.

What makes Abreu's start even more impressive is that he missed most of spring training with an illness. Mind you, the illness that was originally expected to keep him out for the beginning of the year and caused him to drop a few pounds.

"I definitely lost a little bit of weight," Abreu said back in February, via Christopher Smith of MassLive. "But in all honesty, I think it might have helped me a little bit just because I feel I’m more in form than I was. I know it was a sickness, or whatever you want to call it, but I think that the weight loss has kind of helped me a little bit."

Generally, noticeable weight loss due to illness is concerning, but Abreu wasn't worried about it then, and now, it seems like he 'called his shot.' Who knows if the weight loss has contributed to his play, but he has certainly not been held back by the illness.

"I felt confident when I left spring training that I was healthy and ready to have a very good season," Abreu said on Sunday, through translator Carlos Villoria Benítez. "Obviously this is way better than I expected."

Abreu's elite-level play may not hold for the entire season, but regardless, Abreu has been key for the Sox in the early-going. The Red Sox already have big names up and down their lineup, but Abreu could be emerging as another homegrown star in Boston.

Luke Graham is a digital sports content co-op for 98.5 the Sports Hub. He is currently a sophomore at Northeastern University studying communications and media studies. Read all his articles here, and follow him on X @LukeGraham05.