Minor League Baseball

Boston Red Sox Reportedly Giving Top Prospect "Every Opportunity" to Earn Starting Job

Though he's struggled thus far in spring training, the Red Sox are reportedly giving Kristian Campbell a real shot to earn the staring job at second base.
Brady Farkas|
Boston Red Sox second baseman Kristian Campbell (28) rounds third during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium.
Boston Red Sox second baseman Kristian Campbell (28) rounds third during the first inning against the Detroit Tigers at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium. | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

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Boston Red Sox

Though he has struggled thusfar in spring training, Kristian Campbell is reportedly getting a real shot to earn the team's starting job at second base.

Per Chris Cotillo of MassLive:

But it’s clear the Red Sox want to give Campbell — who could be an immediate star — every chance possible to make the team In Boston’s perfect world, he does.

In that vein, the second base job is Campbell’s to lose. 

He's currently ranked as the No. 7 prospect in the sport, via MLB Pipeline. He's one of the Red Sox vaunted "big three," alongside Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony. Regardless of how all this shakes out, he's expected to debut, and contribute, this season. If he is able to win the starting job, then former trade acquisition Vaughn Grissom would likely end up at Triple-A.

Campbell hit .330 last season in the minor leagues, only appearing in 19 games at Triple-A himself. If Campbell were to win the second base job, then Alex Bregman would likely move to third and Rafael Devers to DH, which is something that Devers has said he doesn't want to do.

However, Campbell has struggled so far, registering seven strikeouts in nine at-bats.

The Red Sox are coming off a season in which they went 81-81 and finished third in the American League East. However, the team projects to be much better this season after bringing in Garrett Crochet, Walker Buehler and Bregman. The contributions of the top prospects are also expected to raise the floor for this team, which could challenge the Yankees and Orioles for the AL East crown.

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is the senior writer for “Minor League Baseball on SI’’ and the host of “The Payoff Pitch’’ podcast, which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. Follow Brady on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady.

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