There is a fresh coat of snow in my central Maine backyard. It has the stubbornness of a 2-year-old and melts much too slowly for my taste. My brain says it’s baseball season. Like pretty much every year of my life, my furnace and Mother Nature say not quite.

The Boston Red Sox open the 2026 season Thursday in Cincinnati, with expectations for success they haven’t had in a few years. The Red Sox won 89 games last season, squeezed into a wild-card spot and played over .500 ball for the first time since reaching the American League Championship Series in 2021. Contention for at least another wild-card spot and possibly an American League East title, despite strong opponents in Toronto and New York, isn’t a hope, it’s an imperative.

This team is talented. It’s built to contend. It will be often fun and often aggravating watching that play out over the next six months.

To me, the most interesting thing about the upcoming season is seeing the development of players who came through Portland’s Delta Dental Park at Hadlock Field (that will never roll off the tongue) in recent seasons. The Double-A Sea Dogs are an important rung on the minor league ladder for Boston, and memories are fresh of guys expected to do big things at Fenway Park this season.

Atop that list is Roman Anthony, who is already on the verge of superstardom after making his major league debut last season. His play in the World Baseball Classic showed that Anthony is ready for the big moment.

We had Anthony in Portland for a 10-game preview at the end of the 2023 season and for 84 games in 2024 until his August promotion to Worcester. Even then, it was obvious the kid has the goods. It will be a blast to watch his big league career unfold. And he’s still only 21.

A couple years ago, I would have placed Marcelo Mayer in the same category, a talented player ticketed for big things with the Red Sox. With Mayer’s injury history, I’m not sure anymore.

The fourth overall pick in the 2021 draft, Mayer can play. He can be a guy who hits line drives into the gaps and gets from the plate to second base like he owns the place. Over 120 games with the Sea Dogs in 2023 and 2024, Mayer hit 36 doubles, and also has shown home run power. Defensively, he’s smooth whether playing shortstop, second base or third base.

There’s no disputing Mayer is productive when he plays. That injury history, though. August has been a cruel month for Mayer, who has yet to play more than 91 games in a pro season. Last year he played 43 games in Triple-A Worcester and 44 in Boston before a wrist injury ended his season.

Mayer is expected to start at second base. Alas, he’s already had left knee soreness this spring. He’s only 23, but Mayer has to stay healthy.

A year ago at this time, Connelly Early was preparing to start the season with the Sea Dogs following a midseason call-up to Double-A in 2024. Now he’s earned a spot in Boston’s rotation after a strong spring training, coupled with quality starts in the playoff race last fall.

In 15 games in Portland last season, including 12 starts, Early struck out 96 hitters in 71 2/3 innings. His command is excellent, with just four walks in his limited big league experience of 19 1/3 innings. Early improved every time he climbed a level of minor league baseball, and it will be fun to see what steps the lefty takes next.

There are other former Sea Dogs to look forward to seeing in Boston. Ceddanne Rafaela is entering his third full big league season, and Brayan Bello is entering his fifth with the Red Sox. Payton Tolle, a 6-foot-6 mountain of a left-handed pitcher, will begin the season in Worcester, but we all know he’ll be in Fenway Park again sooner rather than later.

These players are why it’s fun to spend a summer day at Hadlock. Because when we’re there, we’re watching the Red Sox future. Seeing them succeed in the majors feels more personal.