Red Sox Exec Hints At Star Prospect Kristian Campbell's Odds To Win Starting Job

The rise of Boston Red Sox prospect Kristian Campbell has been one of the most positive developments within the organization of the past year.

Campbell started the 2024 season in High-A, and earned two promotions with his stellar play. The 2023 fourth-round pick did not appear on MLB.com's Top 30 Red Sox prospects list at the end of his first professional season, and by the end of year two, the same site ranked him the No. 10 prospect in all of baseball.

Coming off a season where he led all minor-league hitters with over 500 plate appearances in OPS (.997), Campbell has a chance very few could have foreseen for him. Could the 22-year-old make the Red Sox's Opening Day roster out of Spring Training?

Boston's director of player development, Brian Abraham, addressed that very possibility earlier this week.

"Versatility is valuable and being able to play multiple positions in a really strong way is very valuable as well,” Abraham said, per MassLive's Sean McAdam. "You look at someone who can play infield and outfield — it’s such a big piece for AC (manager Alex Cora) to be able to move guys around, whether it be to pinch-hit or used as a defensive replacement."

"So for someone like Kristian, that certainly can add to his value for a major league club. There’s also more opportunities to develop at different positions as well, so he might not get as many reps at second base."

Top prospects used to be commonly denied opportunities at the Opening Day roster because it would cost their teams a year of control not to wait until there was less than half a calendar year remaining in the season.

However, the league now awards teams with draft picks if their top prospects finish top-three in Rookie of the Year voting after making the roster out of camp, which could be incentive to the Red Sox to promote Campbell--and even outfielder Roman Anthony, for that matter.

Campbell and Vaughn Grissom are the main two players that look to be in competition for the everyday second base job. If Grissom outplays Campbell during the spring, it wouldn't make much sense to bring the latter up to sit on the bench.

However, there's no reason to think based on his recent track record that Campbell won't keep raking. He's blown expectations out of the water for the past year straight, and if he keeps doing so this spring, he'll likely win himself a job.