The Boston Red Sox clearly like Kristian Campbell and that’s why he’s the team’s starting second baseman.
Campbell is the first of the “Big 3” to crack the big leagues for Boston. If you asked the question last year who would’ve made the big leagues first, the answer likely would’ve been Marcelo Mayer. Roman Anthony probably wouldn’t have been far behind. At the time, Kyle Teel was an even higher-regarded prospect as well.
That’s before Campbell’s meteoric rise.
Campbell began the 2024 season in High-A and was promoted to the Double-A Portland Sea Dogs and Triple-A Worcester Red Sox. He shined and entered the offseason with sky-high expectations. When Spring Training began, the buzz around Campbell was so high that after the addition of Alex Bregman, there was chatter about Rafael Devers moving to designated hitter so Bregman could play third to make sure there was a spot for Campbell.
That’s exactly what happened. Campbell got the start on Opening Day at second base while Bregman was at third base and Devers was DH. This is a kid who somewhat struggled to open Spring Training, but looked very comfortable by the time it ended and it was announced that he would be on the big league roster.
Opening Day finally is here and the Red Sox shared a video of the moment Campbell got the life-changing news from manager Alex Cora.
It’s hard not to root for this guy. Hopefully, it all works out.
