The Red Sox informed Kristian Campbell on Sunday night that he would be on the roster when the team breaks camp. One of Boston’s top prospects has made the Opening Day roster.
Campbell, who can play several positions, is expected to get regular playing time at second base.
At the outset of camp, the 22-year-old was viewed as a favorite to win the second base job but struggled to find consistency early in the spring, going 0-for-11 with eight strikeouts and having a less balanced approach at the plate than last year when he made a dramatic jump through the team’s farm system.
In 115 games across three levels last season, Campbell hit .330 with a .997 OPS and 20 homers, playing his final 19 games of the year in Triple-A Worcester after a late-August call up.
But spring training numbers being poor indicators of in-season success, the Red Sox kept playing Campbell and by the final few weeks of camp, he started to show signs he was the prospect who won Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year and The Athletic’s Prospect of the Year. The Athletic’s Keith Law ranks Campbell the No. 9 prospect in all of baseball.
Manager Alex Cora didn’t hide that early in camp Campbell had struggled, but he and the coaching staff gave him near constant instruction in the infield on drills and with footwork. About two weeks ago, Campbell fell into a better rhythm, seeming more comfortable at the plate and particularly in the field making diving plays, turning double plays more smoothly and making more natural feeds.
Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow told WEEI.com it wasn’t a single play that turned the switch for Campbell, but the Red Sox started to see more consistency out of him, giving them confidence he was ready for the next challenge in the majors. When Campbell played in the Spring Breakout Game in mid March, he belted a long home run and seemed to snap out of his early camp slump.
By appearing on the Opening Day roster, Campbell will make the Red Sox eligible for the Prospect Promotion Incentive, which is meant to deter teams from holding back prospects in order to accrue an extra year of service time. The rule stipulates a team can earn an extra draft pick after the first round if an eligible player accrues one year of service time as a rookie and either wins Rookie of the Year or places in the top three for MVP or the Cy Young Award. Players with little or no service time like Campbell need to break camp with the club or be called up within the first two weeks of the season (players need to accrue 172 days of service time by the end of the year) to qualify.
Gunnar Henderson and Corbin Carroll earned their teams extra picks in the 2024 MLB Draft, as both were promoted at the start of the 2023 season and won their respective league Rookie of the Year awards.
At this point, Boston’s other top prospects, Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony, are expected to begin their seasons in Triple A, but might not be too far behind Campbell.
Campbell is currently with the team in Mexico while they play two exhibition games before the season begins in Texas on Thursday.
(Photo of Campbell: Danielle Parhizkaran / The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
