Kristian Campbell Is Kicking Off the Red Sox Youth Movement

Former Boston Red Sox Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom catches a lot of flak for his time leading the front office.

Red Sox fans have a right to be upset. He did trade a generational talent in Mookie Betts during his tenure.

However, many of the Red Sox top young players were drafted under Bloom’s watch. Some of their best were found at a bargain.

This piece isn’t about Bloom. But, it feels relevant to point out that the man who was exiled by his fanbase after four seasons of running the front office is the same man that played a real part in assembling what looks like a team on the rise.

Consensus top prospect Roman Anthony was the 79th overall pick in the 2022 draft. Every team passed on him, and now he is the crown jewel of one of baseball’s best farm systems.

Perhaps even more remarkable than Anthony’s rise to stardom is that of Kristian Campbell. Campbell was selected 132nd in the 2023 draft and has already reached the majors.

Across the three highest levels in the minor leagues last season, Campbell slashed .330/.439/.558 with 20 home runs, 24 stolen bases, and a 178 wRC+. His name rocketed up prospect lists after being largely an unknown entity out of Georgia Tech.

Considering the Red Sox were primarily deploying Enmanuel Valdez (72 wRC+) and David Hamilton (92 wRC+) at second base, they were happy to consider a surging young prospect for the job.

Since Opening Day, Campbell has succeeded as an everyday player.

Positive Offensive Takeaways

2025 Stats: 171 PA, .233/.322/.387, 5 HR, 19 RBI, 2 SB, 98 wRC+, 0.2 fWAR

At this time last year, Kristian Campbell was in High-A. To begin this season, he has been an above-average major league hitter.

Campbell hasn’t taken the league by storm, but he has shown that he belongs. His 11.7% walk rate indicates that he is not being overly aggressive and making the opposition come to him. Campbell’s 24.3% chase rate is in the top 30% in the game as well.

He’s still finding his way in the power department, but Campbell’s 72.9 mph bat speed is also encouraging. Having above-average bat speed will allow him to make hard contact with the baseball even when the ball isn’t barreled perfectly. His max exit velocity of 112.2 mph is first among all Red Sox this season.

Given that Campbell is likely to add some muscle to his wiry 6-foot-3, 190lb. frame, there is more to dream on in the bat speed department as he matures.

The most challenging stage of development for a young hitter is often adjusting back when the league has found ways to exploit you. In a 17-game span between April 6-24, Campbell saw his hard-contact rate dive from 47.4% to 28.1%. The opponents seemed to have figured him out in some capacity.

Campbell, however, has been working to counter his opponents. Since then, he’s pushed his hard-contact rate back to around 39%.

For a player who flew through the minor leagues and is still working on finding his footing defensively, Campbell is adjusting to hitting major league pitching with grace.

Campbell’s Current Role

In the minor leagues last season, Campbell started a game at every position except for catcher, first base and left field. An impressive feat for a young player who worked to be a well-above average hitter without a set defensive home.

So far this season, Campbell’s primary role has been as the second baseman for the big league club. 35 of his 40 starts have come at the keystone, but he has been given some outfield work as well.

Campbell’s versatility is so valuable, that even despite having never played first base professionally, he is reportedly training to be a potential replacement for the injured Triston Casas. When asked what his favorite position to play was, Campbell’s response surely garnered much respect from his coaches:

“Whatever helps the team.”

Boston has a clear logjam in the outfield, and shifting Campbell to first base at some point could allow them to slide Ceddanne Rafaela to second to get consistent playing time. Perhaps another top prospect, Marcelo Mayer, could be called up to fill the void at second as well.

Campbell does have well-below average arm strength among major leaguers. His highest throwing velocity in the field is 78.6 mph, which is in the bottom 20% of the league.

Regardless of where Campbell plays defensively, he is assured an everyday opportunity for an upstart Red Sox team. He has spent the majority of the season batting sixth or seventh, but that only figures to rise if the rookie sees continued improvement.

The Red Sox gave Campbell an eight-year, $60 million extension at the beginning of the season, so he is more than happy to contribute in any way possible.

Areas for Improvement

Campbell may be making an impact early in his career, but there are still ways that he needs to elevate his game to realize his potential. Many outlets rated Campbell as one of the game’s best prospects entering this season.

Something that immediately jumps out is his lack of a true defensive home. Yes, Campbell can play all over the diamond in some capacity. But with below-average arm strength it’s hard to love him playing in the outfield consistently. The Red Sox also have some great outfield defenders already in Anthony, Rafaela, Jarren Duran, and Wilyer Abreu.

In the infield, Campbell won’t consistently play on the left side at any point with that arm. So, that leaves us with second base and first base as Campbell’s best options. Second base hasn’t gone well this season, but Campbell appears to be a good athlete and could work to become better.

Campbell could stick around at first, but probably just for the remainder of the year as an injury replacement. As a first baseman though, he would currently grade out as just average or worse, offensively.

Even though Campbell is hitting the ball very hard on occasion and walking at a good rate, it’s hard to say that his approach has been flawless. He’s struck out a concerning 27.5% of the time.

Campbell’s expected stats indicate that his performance is right on par with where it should be, up to this point. His .240 xBA and .398 xSLG are very close to his actual marks and below league average.

He is also whiffing (29.9%) and hitting the ball on the ground (47.1%) a lot. This doesn’t typically yield All-Star production.

Campbell will need to continue to work on lifting the ball improving his contact rate to put himself among the game’s best.

Projecting Future Production

Among the many projection systems, it is a consensus that Campbell will finish 2025 as an average-or-better hitter in his rookie season. Some, however, think more highly of Campbell than others.

OOPSY is one of the newest projection systems around. It takes into account bat tracking and other Statcast metrics that you may find on Baseball Savant. It seems to like Campbell likely due to his plus bat speed and strong max EV. OOPSY figures that Campbell is likely to improve and hit the ball hard.

Steamer is a projection system that has been around for a while and largely takes into account past performances from players at similar age and ability. It is likely lowest on Campbell due to his inexperience and the difficult learning curve for rookies.

However you slice it, Campbell projects to be a good-not-great player in his rookie season. Valuable to any team, but still needing to develop further in the majors.

With more impactful young players on the way in Anthony and Mayer, Campbell is laying the groundwork for what the Red Sox faithful hope is a valuable young core.