Will Middlebrooks’ Sox Talk is a NESN.com periodic feature series. Throughout the season, Middlebrooks, a former player for the Red Sox and current NESN analyst, shares his thoughts and observations on significant Red Sox topics. The most recent tales from the series are available to read here.
The remarkable rise of Kyle Teel, the first draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in 2023, from collegiate baseball to Triple-A in just over a year has received a lot of attention.
However, Kristian Campbell, a Red Sox prospect, has just lately begun to garner significant attention, and he is currently experiencing a similarly rapid ascent to Teel.
Will Middlebrooks told NESN.com, “He’s got not only the Red Sox fans and the organization’s eyes, the whole baseball world is paying attention to him.”
At the start of the season, Campbell—who the Red Sox selected in the fourth round of the previous draft out of Georgia Tech—wasn’t on the same level as Boston’s “Big Three” prospects, Teel, Marcelo Mayer, and Roman Anthony. But he forced his way into that conversation in a matter of months, primarily with his potent right-handed bat. Campbell appeared on Baseball America’s Top 100 prospect list last month and is now listed as Boston’s fifth-best prospect by MLB Pipeline.
The 22-year-old outfielder/middle infielder began the season batting at High-A Greenville.306 with 25 RBIs and eight home homers. He was promoted to Double-A Portland as a result, and he proceeded to obliterate opposition pitching at the higher level.
Campbell made an incredible hit.During his stint with Portland, he hit 362 with a 1.045 OPS, eight home runs, 35 RBIs, 35 walks, and 17 steals. Compared to Mayer, Anthony, and Teel, it only took 56 games with Portland for him to be called up to Triple-A late last week.
Additionally, since coming to Worcester, Campbell has not slowed down at the plate. In his first two games, he had six RBIs.
“This child truly is exceptional,” remarked Middlebrooks. “I believe he can still get better at his swing. I have examined his swing and journey in some detail. Because of his imperfect bat path, he is among the most athletic players.”
The 6-foot-3, 191-pound Campbell regularly gets out on his front side and steeps his swing, as Middlebrooks noticed, which added to the tremendous power and connection that Campbell displayed.
“He’s able to still consistently square the ball up, which tells me he has elite hand-eye coordination,” said Middlebrooks. “You got to think about something coming down toward the plate and you swinging slightly down, you have to meet it perfect, you have to be perfectly on time to square up a ball as often as he’s squaring the ball up.”
