Campbell named MiLB Hitter, Breakout Player of the Year

Kristian Campbell flew under the radar for so long.

Campbell was one of the better position players in Georgia's 2021 high school class, but questions about his power dissuaded pro teams from trying to sign him. At Georgia Tech, the coaching staff believed he'd be better off redshirting than playing in his first year. Even after he batted .376/.484/.549 as a redshirt freshman in 2023, he didn't really tap into his pop or speed and lasted 132 picks until the Red Sox drafted him in the supplemental fourth round.

Even after slashing .309/.440/.471 in his 22-game pro debut, Campbell didn't crack anyone's preseason Red Sox prospect lists.

But Campbell is anonymous no longer. After a stunning first full pro season, he won MLB Pipeline Hitting Prospect of the Year and MiLB Breakout Player of the Year honors during the second annual MiLB Awards Show on Monday evening. Currently ranked No. 74 on MLB Pipeline's Top 100 Prospects list, he'll jump much closer to the top of the list when we update the rankings later this week.

Campbell hit a combined .330/.439/.558 with 20 homers and 24 steals in 115 games between three levels this season. He led the Minors in wRC+ (180) while finishing second in on-base percentage and OPS (.997), fourth in batting and fifth in runs (94). He also won the Double-A Eastern League's MVP award.

In his lone college season, Campbell had no difficulty making contact but homered just four times in 45 games because he hit mostly ground balls and line drives. So the Red Sox asked him to change the path of his right-handed swing to launch more balls in the air. They gave him a program to help him add strength and bat speed.

And Campbell suddenly became one of the best hitting prospects in baseball. Fellow star Red Sox prospect Roman Anthony told Christopher Smith of MassLive: "We call him Barry Bonds just because of how good of a hitter he is."

"My bat path was very narrow in college, and in the past I was a big ground-ball hitter, line-drive hitter," Campbell said. "I'm trying to get my bat path right, trying to get some more doubles, more home runs, hit the ball in the air and hard consistently. That's been my main focus this whole year."

Lots of organizations ask lots of players to make adjustments as they enter pro ball, but massive improvement almost never comes this easily. Boston farm director Brian Abraham says that's a tribute to Campbell.

"It was a collaboration between our amateur department and our player-development department in terms of the mechanical changes that he needed to impact the ball," Abraham said. "We thought there was some low-hanging fruit that could help him. Kristian really embraces change and the challenge of improvement. To see it happen so immediately and dramatically was exciting."

Campbell spent last offseason at the organization's training base in Fort Myers, Fla., adding 15 pounds of lean muscle to his 6-foot-3 frame without losing any of his athleticism. He laid the groundwork for a breakout season that began with a .976 OPS in 40 games in High-A Greenville. He boosted his OPS to 1.045 in 56 games at Double-A Portland and posted an .898 mark in 19 contests at Triple-A Worcester before missing the last 11 days with a minor strain in his left lat.

Campbell said he tried to keep his approach simple as he rose through the Minors.

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"Just have a quality at-bat and hit the ball as hard as you possibly can and in the air," he said. "That's all I can really control. If I hit the ball as hard as possible in the air and had a quality at-bat, that's really all I can do as the pitching is getting more and more advanced at each level."

Besides his metamorphosis at the plate, Campbell also improved other facets of the game. After notching just four steals at Georgia Tech despite plus speed, he became more aggressive on the bases. And while his long-term defensive home is still a question, he did make strides with his glove.

Campbell split time between second base and center field in Single-A, then played more shortstop at higher levels, in large part because of a back injury to Marcelo Mayer, another elite Red Sox prospect. He also saw brief action at third base.

Because he has just average arm strength and a funky throwing motion, Campbell is unlikely to start on the left side of the infield in the big leagues. But he looked smoother at second base and more instinctive in the outfield than he had in the past. He could become an average or better second baseman or at least a solid outfielder.

Though he has played just 137 games as a pro and only 19 above Double-A, Campbell is nearly ready for the big leagues.

"There's still a little bit of chase here and there versus better stuff," Abraham said. "He could hit the ball in the air even more. It's just smaller things, more just continuing to improve the skills he's doing really well in.

"He has the ability to stay on an even keel, even while adapting to different positions during the season. He understands that the process is more important than the results, and that allowed for sustained success this year. Everything we hoped came together for Kristian because of the person he is."