"Nobody in the minors had a year to touch Campbell’s."
The Red Sox’ flourishing farm system entered the 2024 season headlined by the “Big Three” grouping of Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony, and Kyle Teel.
But after this summer, it might be time to change that grouping to the “Big Four.”
Because in a season where all three of Mayer, Anthony, and Teel have continued to elevate their stock as blue-chip prospects, it has been Kristian Campbell who has stolen the show as the franchise’s breakout star in the minor leagues.
And after slashing .330/.439/.997 across three tiers of competition from High-A to Triple-A this season, Campbell was named “Prospect of the Year” by The Athletic’s Keith Law on Tuesday.
“The decision to give the award to Campbell wasn’t even close for me — nobody in the minors had a year to touch Campbell’s,” Law, a longtime baseball scribe and prospect evaluator, noted.
Playing in his first full season of pro ball, Campbell has teed off against pitching at just about every level in 2024. A fourth-round selection by Boston in the 2023 MLB Draft, Campbell is currently tabbed as the No. 24 prospect in baseball by Baseball America — a sizable leap up from the No. 99 ranking he logged earlier this season.
The Georgia Tech product drove in 25 runs in his first 40 games with High-A Greenville this spring, prompting Boston to promote him to Double-A Portland in June. He seemingly only got better despite the elevated competition, batting .362 with eight home runs, 28 total extra-base hits, and 35 RBI in just 56 games with Portland.
In what has been a recurring trend this season, Campbell has continued to excel since earning a spot up with Triple-A Worcester last month — batting .286 with four home runs and 17 RBI in just 19 games.
Even though the 22-year-old Campbell’s season might be over after missing nearly a week of action due to a left lat strain, his accelerated development, sterling stats, and advanced approach at the plate has clearly impressed Law when measured across the hundreds of other top prospects in baseball.
“This all came with just a 19.9 percent strikeout rate, and it was in his first full year in pro ball,” Law wrote. “And he did it while playing four skill positions — second, short, center, and third, with more than 200 innings at each of the first three spots. … This already looks like a home run of a pick for the Red Sox’s scouting staff, as Campbell tore up pitching — even good pitching — at every level, and now sits as one of the top 50 prospects in baseball.”
Given both Campbell’s versatility and his production at the plate, he could make a legitimate push for reps at the big-league level out of spring training in 2025.
