BOSTON — As the season winds down for the Boston Red Sox, a glimpse of their future arrived at Fenway Park on Friday.
The organization honored its minor-league players of the year, headlined by infielder/outfielder Kristian Campbell, who earned Offensive Player of the Year.
The 22-year-old right-handed hitter, drafted in the fourth round in 2023 out of Georgia Tech, rocketed through the system this season, finishing the year with a .330 average and .997 OPS along with 20 homers and 24 steals across three levels from High-A Greenville, Double-A Portland, and Triple-A Worcester.
Earlier in the week, he was named Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year and The Athletic’s Keith Law also pegged him as the Prospect of the Year in mid-September.
Campbell’s success has been a surprise even to him.
“I think it was definitely more than what I expected coming into the season, because I’ve never really hit home runs before in the past,” he said. “I hit a couple maybe in a season, but hitting 20 this year kind of, like if you asked me before the season if I would have hit 20, I would have said no way. But it’s the work I put in, and the work that the player development team has for me and what we work on every day kind of gets me prepared for that.”
Last offseason, the Red Sox revamped his swing, shifting him from the line-drive, groundball-type hitter that he was in college to one who could drive the ball in the air. The results of several months of hard work retooling his swing and bat path produced dramatic results almost from the get-go.
In 40 games at Greenville, he hit .306 with a .976 OPS and eight homers. He was promoted to Double A in late May, where he hit even better, posting a .362 average and 1.045 OPS and eight homers over 56 games. That led to one more boost in late August to Triple A, where he finished out the year hitting .286 with an .898 OPS and four homers in 19 games. He missed the final few games of the season in Worcester with a lat strain but the immense body of work put him on the map across baseball.
Unranked at the start of the season, Campbell finished the year as the No. 24 prospect in Baseball America’s top-100 prospects and No. 46 in Law’s mid-season top-60 prospect list.
“I think we saw a lot of progress and growth this offseason, but to say any of us were expecting the type of season he was going to have this year, I think would probably be a little bit of a lie,” director of player development Brian Abraham said. “He added good weight, he added bat speed. He made a bunch of adjustments in the swing, but I think the work and the production was incredible to see and probably, unmatched quite frankly, within minor-league baseball this year.”
Campbell came up as a second baseman after playing there mostly in college, but the Red Sox expanded his versatility and he excelled in center field while also playing above-average third base and shortstop. This season, he played 36 games apiece at second and short, along with 25 games in center, 16 games at designated hitter and five at third base.
“I think he has really good adjustability, whether it be throwing from different angles, whether it be moving his feet, whether it be taking good routes to the ball in the outfield or even in the infield,” Abraham said. “I don’t think people realize how difficult that is. You see someone like Ceddanne (Rafaela) go from shortstop to center so easily. And for Kristian to be able to do that at above-average pace has been really fun to watch.”
The Red Sox have a hole at second base entering next season and Campbell will be in the mix alongside Vaughn Grissom. Chief baseball officer Craig Breslow didn’t rule out Campbell making the Opening Day roster, but noted it’s too early for any kind of decision.
Earlier in the week, manager Alex Cora had high praise for Campbell.
“I don’t know about next year and Opening Day,” Cora said in Toronto this week, “but I know he’s going to impact the roster for the Red Sox at one point. He’s going to be an impactful kid.
“It’s going to be interesting how we make it fit,” said Cora. “But (his bat) plays. And like I said before, right-handed hitters at Fenway are needed to create balance and change games. And he’s going to change games.”
Campbell along with the other minor-league award winners were honored on the field in a pre-game ceremony.
Your 2024 #RedSox Minor League Award Winners! pic.twitter.com/sn3ymYRaKn
— Red Sox Player Development (@RedSoxPlayerDev) September 27, 2024
Right-hander Hunter Dobbins earned Starting Pitcher of the Year with a 3.17 ERA and 98 strikeouts over 21 starts in Portland.
Outfielder Nelly Taylor won Defensive Player of the Year making 59 starts in center field, 25 in left field, 17 in right field, and 10 as the designated hitter over 101 games in Low-A Salem and 10 at Greenville. He hit .233 with eight homers and 33 steals in 111 games this season.
Right-hander Chase Shugart was named the organization’s reliever of the year and has been pitching in Boston since early September. He had a 4.46 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 70 2/3 innings over 36 appearances with Worcester.
Infielder Franklin Arias won Baserunner of the Year. The 18-year-old went 35-for-41 in stolen base attempts this season between the Florida Complex League (51 games) and Salem (36 games). He hit .309 with an .896 OPS, 25 doubles, two triples and nine homers on the season, splitting time between shortstop and second base.
First baseman outfielder Justin Gonzales won Latin Program Position Player of the Year and right-hander Yermain Ruiz won Latin Program Pitcher of the Year. The 17-year-old Gonzales hit .327 with a .911 OPS in 47 games in the Dominican Summer League. In the DSL postseason, he hit .444 with nine RBIs in seven games, including a 4-for-5 performance in the clinching game of the DSL Championship Series.
Ruiz, 18, made 11 starts for the DSL Red Sox red team, posting a 1.77 ERA and .172 opponent batting average along with 37 strikeouts and 15 walks in 45 2/3 innings.
Meanwhile, left-hander Cam Booser won the Lou Gorman Award given annually to a player who’s demonstrated perseverance in overcoming obstacles on their way to the majors. Booser had broken a femur playing football in high school and later vertebrae while lifting weights before undergoing Tommy John surgery in college. While pitching in the minors, he was hit by a car and retired from baseball, working as a carpenter, before returning to the sport in 2022 and making his big-league debut this season.
With Campbell’s honors, alongside outfielder Roman Anthony christened as the No. 1 prospect in baseball by Baseball America at the start of September, the Red Sox farm system is the strongest it’s been in years, even as a group top-heavy in position player talent.
“Really excited just for the players development group, the players and to be able to have guys on top of any list is certainly very special,” Abraham said. “But I also think it signifies us having still a ways to go for these guys to make it to Boston.”
(Photo of Campbell with Greenville: Tom Priddy / Four Seam Images via Associated Press)
