\u201cFantastic,\u201d said Sox hitting coach Pete Fatse, who added that Abreu is combining traits that would mark him as \u201celite.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Sox recognize traps in early-season rushes to judgment. But they also feel the initial days of the season added to mounting evidence they\u2019d seen throughout the spring \u2014 both in the Grapefruit League and when Abreu starred for Team Venezuela in the World Baseball Classic \u2014 of an improved approach that has a chance to elevate Abreu among the better hitters in the game.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThe cool thing is, we\u2019ve seen a lot of small doses [of approach gains] throughout camp,\u201d said Fatse. \u201cWe still have a ways to go before it becomes completely sticky, but the reality is, it\u2019s been something that he\u2019s been prioritizing.\u201d<\/p>\n
So what is Abreu prioritizing? The 26-year-old identified a few elements.<\/p>\n
First, he wanted to become more compact in his swing \u2014 thus allowing him to better handle fastballs at the top of the zone, a weakness in past years. Through three games, his swing was averaging 6.7 feet \u2013 about seven inches less than his average swing length prior to this season \u2014 and had been flatter through the zone, creating fewer holes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just trying to be shorter with my swing, keep my hands closer to my body,\u201d said Abreu. \u201cThat\u2019s one of the things I did this offseason.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s also worked to focus on the middle of the field as a default setting in his approach, rather than pulling the ball. Abreu has a gift for driving the ball in the air even when he lets it travel deep in the zone, an uncommon gift.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s extremely powerful,\u201d said Fatse. \u201cThat\u2019s the thing \u2014 understanding how powerful you are. You can be short and explosive. You don\u2019t necessarily need more length to generate bat speed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Abreu is increasingly coming to an understanding that he\u2019s capable of driving the ball out to all fields. Entering 2026, 37 of his 39 career homers, including all 22 in 2025, were to the right of center field. But the Sox felt he had a natural ability to drive the ball to center and left, and Abreu worked to develop that skill over the offseason.<\/p>\n
He built on those efforts in spring training, then turbocharged those efforts during the WBC while working with Team Venezuela hitting coach Miguel Cabrera and assistant manager Victor Martinez.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was able to hear that conversation and the motivational speech from Victor,\u201d said Astros bench coach Omar L\u00f3pez. \u201c[Martinez] mentioned to him, \u2018Wilyer, you\u2019ve got power for [the pull] side, but you also can generate power at Fenway Park on the left side if you let the ball travel more. And then when you go to the other fields, there\u2019s some big gaps on that field. If you\u2019re able to do that, you\u2019re going to use the whole field. Now how are they going to play defense on you?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Abreu worked with Martinez and Cabrera on how to use the strength of his lower body to hold his direction up the middle, rather than flying open in pursuit of pull-side power. The result was evident in a homer to center against Team USA in the championship game of the WBC. Abreu, who beamed about the chance to work with a pair of Venezuelan legends, believes he\u2019s ready to sustain an effective all-fields approach that could elevate his numbers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been trying to use the whole field [in past years]. I just didn\u2019t do it the right way. I think this year, I\u2019m in a better position to use the whole field. That\u2019s kind of new for me this year, but I know I have the ability to do that,\u201d said Abreu. \u201cI think if I keep this path of my swing, trying to use the other way, too, and not only pull everything, I think I\u2019m going to be in a good spot to improve my numbers and improve all my stats.\u201d<\/p>\n
If Abreu does that, he has a chance to emerge as a special talent \u2014 part of the team\u2019s thinking when they kept him largely off limits in trade talks this winter. Four years after the Sox acquired Abreu in a deadline deal from the Astros for Christian V\u00e1zquez, he is flourishing.<\/p>\n
The early glimpses from Abreu, then, offer considerable promise to a lineup in search of anchors \u2014 and have caught the notice of the rest of the baseball world.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s fun to watch. He\u2019s a great hitter. What he did in the WBC was electric. It was amazing to see that,\u201d said V\u00e1zquez, now back with the Astros. \u201cIt\u2019s very cool to have [been part of] a trade like that, with a player of that caliber that he has. I\u2019m very happy for him.\u201d <\/p>\n
Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him @alexspeier<\/a>.<\/p>\n