Article: How Kristian Campbell Turned The Red Sox's "Big 3" Into The "Big 4"

[Brian Ziller]

The emergence of prospect Kristian Campbell could offer the Red Sox exciting options this offseason.

It was a 2-0 count with two runners in scoring position. Kristian Campbell was just looking for a pitch to barrel. Boy, did he get one. A middle-middle slider clocked at 80 MPH. Then Campbell did what he’s done all season. He hit the ball… really hard. A screaming missile over the left field wall to extend the Worcester Red Sox's lead in the 6th inning. 

It was the 22-year-old’s 20th home run of the year, across three levels of professional baseball. Campbell started the 2024 season at High-A Greenville, where he hit eight home runs and had a .976 OPS in 40 games. He was promoted to Double-A Portland where he became a menace on the base paths, swiping 17 bags with a .362 average in 56 games. Two weeks ago, Campbell was promoted to Triple-A Worcester and has not missed a beat. In 13 games, he’s hitting .300 with four home runs and three stolen bases. 

2024 season (A+, AA, AAA):
109 games, 93 R, 20 HR, 75 RBI, 23 SB, .334/.444/.573/1.017

In a world where Red Sox fans are banking on the ‘The Big 3” of Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kyle Teel to return them to perennial contender status, it may be Kristian Campbell who provides a much-needed spark at a position that has been relatively sparkless since the days of the "Laser Show.” In fact, since Dustin Pedroia’s injury-plagued 2018 season, the Red Sox have had 37 players man second base. Of those who have played at least 20 games at the position, here are the players with the highest WAR:

Player	WAR	Year
Kike Hernandez	5.0	2021
Trevor Story	2.5	2022
Christian Arroyo	1.5	2021
Brock Holt	1.5	2019
Brock Holt	1.2	2018
Michael Chavis	0.9	2019
Pablo Reyes	0.4	2023

With the Red Sox on track to miss the playoffs for the fifth time in six years and the lackluster acquisitions made last offseason in light of Tom Werner’s “full throttle” gaff, the pressure (both internal and external) on Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow will no doubt be ratcheted up to ten. 

Could Campbell be the centerpiece of a trade package to acquire a Tarik Skubal-esque ace in the off-season? 

Could there be an open competition at second base in the Spring between Campbell, speedster David Hamilton, a veteran free agency (Willy Adames, anyone?) and Vaughn Grissom (who’s hitting .300 so far in September)? 

Or could the Red Sox trade a major league piece and move Campbell off second base? He profiles at multiple positions due to his raw athleticism. Campbell played 36 minor league games at second base this year, compared to 31 at shortstop, 25 in center field and four at third base. If the last two weeks is any indication, Campbell has started seven games at shortstop and only two at second base. Right now he’s blocked by Trevor Story at shortstop with Marcelo Mayer waiting in the wings. He’s blocked in the outfield by Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, and eventually, Roman Anthony.

The Red Sox have a gluttony of talent in the minor leagues, many of whom are poised to make the jump to Boston starting next season. They currently have six players on Baseball America’s Top 100 Rankings. 

Kristian Campbell ranks #25 in all of minor league baseball.

Campbell is proving he deserves to be in the same conversation as “The Big 3”. In their September update, SoxProspects.com moved Campbell ahead of Kyle Teel in the organizational rankings. It’s getting hard to argue:

View full article

[Brock Beauchamp]

Personally, while I like Willy Adames plenty, his defensive nosedive this season is really troubling.

[moonslav59]

36 minutes ago, Brian Ziller said:

The emergence of prospect Kristian Campbell could offer the Red Sox exciting options this offseason.

It was a 2-0 count with two runners in scoring position. Kristian Campbell was just looking for a pitch to barrel. Boy, did he get one. A middle-middle slider clocked at 80 MPH. Then Campbell did what he’s done all season. He hit the ball… really hard. A screaming missile over the left field wall to extend the Worcester Red Sox's lead in the 6th inning. 

It was the 22-year-old’s 20th home run of the year, across three levels of professional baseball. Campbell started the 2024 season at High-A Greenville, where he hit eight home runs and had a .976 OPS in 40 games. He was promoted to Double-A Portland where he became a menace on the base paths, swiping 17 bags with a .362 average in 56 games. Two weeks ago, Campbell was promoted to Triple-A Worcester and has not missed a beat. In 13 games, he’s hitting .300 with four home runs and three stolen bases. 

2024 season (A+, AA, AAA):
109 games, 93 R, 20 HR, 75 RBI, 23 SB, .334/.444/.573/1.017

In a world where Red Sox fans are banking on the ‘The Big 3” of Roman Anthony, Marcelo Mayer and Kyle Teel to return them to perennial contender status, it may be Kristian Campbell who provides a much-needed spark at a position that has been relatively sparkless since the days of the "Laser Show.” In fact, since Dustin Pedroia’s injury-plagued 2018 season, the Red Sox have had 37 players man second base. Of those who have played at least 20 games at the position, here are the players with the highest WAR:

Player	WAR	Year
Kike Hernandez	5.0	2021
Trevor Story	2.5	2022
Christian Arroyo	1.5	2021
Brock Holt	1.5	2019
Brock Holt	1.2	2018
Michael Chavis	0.9	2019
Pablo Reyes	0.4	2023

With the Red Sox on track to miss the playoffs for the fifth time in six years and the lackluster acquisitions made last offseason in light of Tom Werner’s “full throttle” gaff, the pressure (both internal and external) on Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow will no doubt be ratcheted up to ten. 

Could Campbell be the centerpiece of a trade package to acquire a Tarik Skubal-esque ace in the off-season? 

Could there be an open competition at second base in the Spring between Campbell, speedster David Hamilton, a veteran free agency (Willy Adames, anyone?) and Vaughn Grissom (who’s hitting .300 so far in September)? 

Or could the Red Sox trade a major league piece and move Campbell off second base? He profiles at multiple positions due to his raw athleticism. Campbell played 36 minor league games at second base this year, compared to 31 at shortstop, 25 in center field and four at third base. If the last two weeks is any indication, Campbell has started seven games at shortstop and only two at second base. Right now he’s blocked by Trevor Story at shortstop with Marcelo Mayer waiting in the wings. He’s blocked in the outfield by Jarren Duran, Ceddanne Rafaela, Wilyer Abreu, and eventually, Roman Anthony.

The Red Sox have a gluttony of talent in the minor leagues, many of whom are poised to make the jump to Boston starting next season. They currently have six players on Baseball America’s Top 100 Rankings. 

Kristian Campbell ranks #25 in all of minor league baseball.

Campbell is proving he deserves to be in the same conversation as “The Big 3”. In their September update, SoxProspects.com moved Campbell ahead of Kyle Teel in the organizational rankings. It’s getting hard to argue:

 

View full article

 

I really like this article. I am most impressed by how quickly he jumped into the top 3, which was a very impressive top 3. I have him at #2, ahead of Mayer and Teel. WOW!

[moonslav59]

34 minutes ago, Brock Beauchamp said:

Personally, while I like Willy Adames plenty, his defensive nosedive this season is really troubling.

...and that was what I liked the most about him, before this season.

[Brock Beauchamp]

8 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

...and that was what I liked the most about him, before this season.

Yeah. I'm a Brewers fan so I watch a lot of their games. I don't really understand what has happened to Adames. It could be a blip on the radar - sometimes defense slumps - but I wouldn't bank nine figures on that being the case.

[Larry Cook]

Campbell is the right handed bat we need in the lineup. He starts 2025 in Boston at 2B and stays there! This kid has a funky swing, but he can flat out hit! 

[Brian Ziller]

23 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I really like this article. I am most impressed by how quickly he jumped into the top 3, which was a very impressive top 3. I have him at #2, ahead of Mayer and Teel. WOW!

Thanks!

And this from Baseball America today, 

"We see plus-plus contact skills ... should make him as good a bet as any prospect to hit near .300 with 20 homers ... very close, but in this writer’s opinion, Campbell is the best prospect in the Red Sox system."

[mvp 78]

1 hour ago, Brian Ziller said:

Thanks!

And this from Baseball America today, 

"We see plus-plus contact skills ... should make him as good a bet as any prospect to hit near .300 with 20 homers ... very close, but in this writer’s opinion, Campbell is the best prospect in the Red Sox system."

That's wild since Roman is going to be the #1 MiLB prospect in the next few days. Campbell is really great and I'm here for the rocket that has been strapped to him. 

[Larry Cook]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

That's wild since Roman is going to be the #1 MiLB prospect in the next few days. Campbell is really great and I'm here for the rocket that has been strapped to him. 

Campbell has definitely hit the rookie wall this past week. He is getting out in front of stuff and losing balance because of the funky swing! Needs to stay back on the ball and not open up so early! 
I would take Campbell over Mayer, but I would take Anthony over anybody including the prospects that graduated this year regardless of team. 

[Maddie Landis]

On 9/8/2024 at 11:36 AM, Brian Ziller said:

a veteran free agency (Willy Adames, anyone?)

Adames' splits against LHP are concerning.

Let Grissom, Hamilton, and Campbell battle it out for 2B next year.

Heck, I wouldn't be opposed to occasionally playing Wong at 2B. Despite his defensive catching issues, he's shown some athleticism on the field. 

On 9/8/2024 at 11:36 AM, Brian Ziller said:

Could Campbell be the centerpiece of a trade package to acquire a Tarik Skubal-esque ace in the off-season? 

I saw Skubal pitch in Detroit against the Red Sox last month. The dude is a stud. Do the Tigers need any infielders or outfielders? We have a surplus of both in our system. 

[Brock Beauchamp]

Just now, notcraigbreslow said:

Adames' splits against LHP are concerning.

Let Grissom, Hamilton, and Campbell battle it out for 2B next year.

Heck, I wouldn't be opposed to occasionally playing Wong at 2B. Despite his defensive catching issues, he's shown some athleticism on the field. 

I saw Skubal pitch in Detroit against the Red Sox last month. The dude is a stud. Do the Tigers need any infielders or outfielders? We have a surplus of both in our system. 

Welcome to Talk Sox!

[Larry Cook]

30 minutes ago, notcraigbreslow said:

Adames' splits against LHP are concerning.

Let Grissom, Hamilton, and Campbell battle it out for 2B next year.

Heck, I wouldn't be opposed to occasionally playing Wong at 2B. Despite his defensive catching issues, he's shown some athleticism on the field. 

Haven’t we been playing wong at first base this year 

[moonslav59]

17 hours ago, Larry Cook said:

Haven’t we been playing wong at first base this year 

49 innings at 1B and 19 at 2B.

If Teel is the real deal, Wong may be riding the bench more or find other ways to get into the line-up, assuming he can stay near .770.

17 hours ago, Larry Cook said:

Haven’t we been playing wong at first base this year 

 

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

49 innings at 1B and 19 at 2B.

If Teel is the real deal, Wong may be riding the bench more or find other ways to get into the line-up, assuming he can stay near .770.

 

Maybe less time behind the plate will keep his OPS even higher? I know there was always talk of UTIL Wong while he was in MiLB after coming over from the Doyers. If Campbell is producing well enough to stick, I'd let him be the fulltime guy though as he has no split issues and is very athletic. 

[moonslav59]

21 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Maybe less time behind the plate will keep his OPS even higher? I know there was always talk of UTIL Wong while he was in MiLB after coming over from the Doyers. If Campbell is producing well enough to stick, I'd let him be the fulltime guy though as he has no split issues and is very athletic. 

It's easy to foresee a situation, where when all are healthy (yeah, right) the utility role will be very minimal.

C: Teel could play as much as most catchers can play: Wong plays the rest.

1B: Casas, if healthy, can max out at 1B and maybe play some DH on "rest days."

2B: Campbell or Story can fill this need, FT.

SS: Story or Mayer can fill this need, FT, but health seems to be sketchy.

3B: Devers is FT.

LF: Duran is FT and can play CF, when the CF'er is resting.

CF: Rafaela and Duran cover this 162 games.

RF: Anthony and Abreu is actually an overload, here. (Abreu could DH or play LF.)

DH: Yoshida is FT, but this could become a catch-all slot, if he gets traded.

To me, if Ref does not retire he should play vs every LH'd SP, somewhere- somehow. That limits any utility player's time. A D-Ham and Grissom/Romy platoon works well for 2B, so I'm not sure Wong is any better, there. Our need for depth is at SS, especially if Mayer or Story are hurt, 1B and 3B. Romy and Wong can play 1B, so maybe ditch Romy, if he's out of options. Devers could maybe learn 1B, soon, even if just to sub. Who is the 3B sub? Romy? Story> perhaps, it could be Meidroth. Campbell has played some 3B, but many seem to think his arm is too weak for many games, there.

Down the road...

C: Jo Garcia (Musett, Brannon)

1B: B Gonzales/Ju Gonzalez (Jordan)

2B: Cespedes (Alcantara)

SS: Arias, Riemer

3B: Romero, Nunez

LF: Castro, Asencio/Brito

CF: Jh Garcia, Bleis

RF: B. Montgomery, Yuten
 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, notcraigbreslow said:

We've seen him more frequently at 1B than 2B. 

He's an athletic guy... I'd love to keep him on the roster. Cora likes versatile players. 

Wong would be a very nice back-up catcher (to Teel,) back-up 1Bman (to Casas) and 3rd/4th string 2Bman (to Campbell/ DHam/ Grissom.)

He will stay on the 26 for a long while.

[Larry Cook]

I think Roman and Campbell start the year in Boston. 
By mid season 2025, I  think the new big 4 will be teel, Mayer, Montgomery and arias! 
with cespedes pushing hard 

[moonslav59]

On 9/14/2024 at 3:21 PM, Larry Cook said:

I think Roman and Campbell start the year in Boston. 
By mid season 2025, I  think the new big 4 will be teel, Mayer, Montgomery and arias! 
with cespedes pushing hard 

I think we wait the 3-4 weeks needed to add another year of control. That would also give us time and space on the 40, since neither need to be added to the 40, until we want them on the 26.

Remember, you can't have anyone on the 60 day IL, until after opening day, so you can't create slots on the 40,  before opening day with them.

My guess is maybe one is on the opening day, especially Anthony, if we trade Abreu. Campbell gets added once the extra year is earned. Maybe may be added over Campbell, if he's healthy and looks better in ST'ing.

Meidroth will not be on the 40, until midseason, at the earliest, unless a corner IF'er gets hurt.

[Larry Cook]

16 hours ago, moonslav59 said:

I think we wait the 3-4 weeks needed to add another year of control. That would also give us time and space on the 40, since neither need to be added to the 40, until we want them on the 26.

Remember, you can't have anyone on the 60 day IL, until after opening day, so you can't create slots on the 40,  before opening day with them.

My guess is maybe one is on the opening day, especially Anthony, if we trade Abreu. Campbell gets added once the extra year is earned. Maybe may be added over Campbell, if he's healthy and looks better in ST'ing.

Meidroth will not be on the 40, until midseason, at the earliest, unless a corner IF'er gets hurt.

If a guy can help the main team, why worry about service time so much 

[moonslav59]

24 minutes ago, Larry Cook said:

If a guy can help the main team, why worry about service time so much 

An extra year is for the main team and more likely in prime than pre-prime.

The way the Sox now let stars walk, I want one more year.

Plus, from what I am told, we are talking about 3-4 weeks vs gaining a year on the back end, most likely at ages 27-29.

[Larry Cook]

On 9/17/2024 at 1:56 PM, moonslav59 said:

An extra year is for the main team and more likely in prime than pre-prime.

The way the Sox now let stars walk, I want one more year.

Plus, from what I am told, we are talking about 3-4 weeks vs gaining a year on the back end, most likely at ages 27-29.

And will our fan base have patients if we miss the playoffs in year 1 by 2 games because of the slow start while the prospect was in triple A???? 
from what have seen, they seem to be very impatient 

[moonslav59]

33 minutes ago, Larry Cook said:

And will our fan base have patients if we miss the playoffs in year 1 by 2 games because of the slow start while the prospect was in triple A???? 
from what have seen, they seem to be very impatient 

Since when is this the determining factor for the Sox FO?

I will also add this: we don't know if any of the 3 or 4 can or would project to outplay who we have already in the first 3-4 weeks of the 2025 season. They very well might, and if the player who starts on the 26 instead of one of these kids sucks in that time frame, then the "missed the playoff by 1-2 games" argument would be front and center, yes. We'd also need to see whoever was in question have a good year once called up. This is a lot of things that need to go as such for this to become an overriding factor over gaining a prime year of a player. Having one more year of Bogey, Betts and others would have been very nice and very fan friendly.

I really want us to win in 2025 and do think putting the best players on the 26 as much of the year as possible makes a ton of sense. I totally get your point, but I also want to see us have a better chance 5-6 years from now, too. I know most fans don't think like that, but I'd prefer another year of Anthony, Campbell, Mayer and Teel at an age of 26, 27 or 28 than get 3-4 more weeks of them at age 22-24.

Maybe I have more patience than the average fan, and please don't take that as me bragging or thinking I'm better or smarter than anyone else.

For one thing, I'm not even sure 3 or 4 of these guys would make the 26 on opening day, even if there was no service time issue involved. I don't think Teel would. Mayer's health might make a difference, next April, so this could just be about Anthony and Campbell.

My opinion does not matter, but I'd say Anthony is ready, right now. Campbell looks ready, too, with the bat, but I think he needs time to learn a position, first. That being said, I'd also be happy seeing him as our starting 2Bman in 2026.

Although this is not a unique situation in MLB, having 3-4 players that don't even need 40 man protection from Rule 5 (4-5 if you count Meidroth) is a bit of an issue. It means we have to trade away or DFA players with ML experience to add these guys not just to the 40, but to the 26. It's not worth adding them to the 40, until the day we want them on the 26. That causes tough choices to be made before they really need to be made, and we cannot open a slot for them by putting someone on the 60 day IL, until after opening day. Maybe we do that: we add one or two to the 40 on day 2, once we put whatever new pitcher we acquire on the 60 day IL (like we did with Gio & Hendriks in 2024.)

 

 

[Larry Cook]

Does shutting down Campbell for the rest of this season hurt his chances to earn the 2nd base job to start the year in 2025? 

[moonslav59]

On 9/19/2024 at 2:03 PM, Larry Cook said:

Does shutting down Campbell for the rest of this season hurt his chances to earn the 2nd base job to start the year in 2025? 

I don't think so. If he's healthy for ST'ing, he'll be in the mix. 

It will be interesting to see how they construct their 40 man roster and how many of the 5 top prospects- all non Rule 5 players will be on it. IMO, only those on the opening day 26 will be on the 40.

Anthony, Campbell, Mayer, Meidroth & Teel.

The team control years may be a big part of the equation for some or all. I think Teel will not start on the 26 or 40. Only an injury or trade of a corner IF'er would give Meidroth a shot for opening day. The other 3 are in the serious opening day roster mix, IMO.

[moonslav59]

The Season Stats:

AAA: 1.062 Gasper, .982 Anthony, .897 Campbell (70 ABs), .838 Meidroth, .835 Sogard, .816 Dalbec, .776 EValdez, .758 Grissom, .736 Hickey, .717 Teel (102 ABs)

AA: 1.045 Campbell, .861 Gasper, .856 Anthony, .852 Teel, .850 Mayer, .815 Ehrhard (68 AB) .800 Romero (70 AB), .693 Jordan, .504 Castro

A+: .998 Jh Garcia, .976 Campbell, .845 B Gonzalez, .817 Romero, .812 Castro, .677 Riemer, .584 Bleis

A-: 1.063 Jo Garcia (52 AB), .882 Jh Garcia (89), .746 Bleis, .710 Arias, .684 Yuten

FCL: 1.055 Arias, 1.015 Cespedes, .904 F Jimenez, .869 Riemer, .834 Asencio, .733 Nunez

[mvp 78]

 

[mvp 78]

 

 

[mvp 78]

 

[mvp 78]

A very impressive list:

 

[moonslav59]

Is KC your son?