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Red Sox maintain No. 5 ranked farm system in baseball despite Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell graduations
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Roman Anthony keeps posting stats that link him to Ted Williams, other baseball legends
In April, Red Sox rookie Kristian Campbell attracted attention during his debut month of Major League Baseball play. After beginning his career with a.301 batting average,.902 OPS, four home runs, and 12 RBI in 29 games, the 23-year-old was named the league’s American League Rookie of the Month. Despite making three mistakes in 211 innings, he appeared to be a slick second baseman as well.
For Campbell, however, May and June were a different matter. He batted.169 in 38 games, with a.506 OPS, 20 hits (including one home run and two doubles), and nine RBI. He made four more defensive mistakes at second base and started to resemble a rookie there.
In light of his recent slump, Boston decided to demote Campbell to Triple-A Worcester on June 21. Although it was a necessary decision at the time, it caused some controversy because two and a half months prior, the player and the organization had agreed to an eight-year, $60 million contract. Days before signing the agreement, the Red Sox abruptly decided to add Campbell to the Opening Day roster, a move that showed they fully trusted the youngster.
Campbell’s swing has returned since he was transferred to Worcester. He is batting.285 with an OPS of.867 through 42 games. He has tied his season-opening total with the major league club with six home runs. August saw the arrival of two of them. In addition, Campbell has touched home plate 31 times, drawn 25 walks, and driven in 23 runs.
He has played a number of positions on defense, including left field (1, on August 14), second base (11), and first base (23 games). At 1B and 2B, Campbell has made two mistakes each.
According to the stat sheet, Campbell is prepared to go back to Boston. Perhaps the Red Sox will give the rookie another shot in the closing days as they aim to qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2021, given the demotion of fellow infielder David Hamilton earlier this week.
Campbell bid that ball farewell with a kisspic.twitter.com/gXCy1540Aa
However, Alex Cora stated that Campbell has more work to do in the lower leagues and that a major league comeback is not likely.
Cora told reporters Friday that it’s the same stuff he had trouble with here. Pitch identification, encompassing specific fastball forms. It’s difficult because he won’t be able to get that down there. He isn’t. This velo is faster and more difficult. Here, the locations are accurate. The difference is significant, with all due respect to the players down there.
It’s just one of those where we must continue to work. He must continue to work and wait to see what the future brings.
However, Campbell seems to be playing a solid right side of the infield and has done a good job in the batter’s box. He had hit in 19 of his previous 22 games going into Friday, hitting.370 with three doubles, five home runs, 14 RBI, and 20 runs scored.
As of Friday, Alex Bregman, Romy Gonzalez, Ceddanne Rafaela, Trevor Story, and Abraham Toro are the five infielders on the Red Sox’s active roster. Rafaela has played 103 games in center field this season, but only 18 at 2B.
With a month and a half left in the regular season, it is reasonable to question whether Campbell’s promotion back to Boston is still possible given Hamilton’s recent relegation and Campbell’s recent hot streak.
Boston.com sports producer Kaley Brown covers the Boston Bruins, Boston Celtics, Patriots, and Boston Red Sox.
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