Teammates have a cool nickname for Red Sox prospect Kristian Campbell.
“We call him Barry Bonds just because of how good of a hitter he is,” top Red Sox prospect Roman Anthony said.
The Red Sox promoted Campbell to Triple-A Worcester on Sunday evening, a source confirmed to MassLive. He will join Anthony, Kyle Teel and Marcelo Mayer, known as the Big Three, who were promoted to the WooSox last Sunday.
Campbell, who ranks No. 98 on Baseball America’s Top 100 list, is the hottest hitter in the Red Sox’ system. His presence gives Worcester a Big Four.
The Red Sox drafted the 22-year-old shortstop/center fielder in the fourth round in 2023. He batted .362 with a .463 on-base percentage, .582 slugging percentage, 1.045 OPS, eight homers, 17 doubles, three triples, 35 RBIs, 48 runs, 17 steals, 35 walks and 38 strikeouts in 56 games (255 plate appearances).
He began the season at High-A Greenville. He has slashed .339/.444/.572/1.016 with 16 homers, 30 doubles, three triples, 60 RBIs, 77 runs, 20 steals, 61 walks and 85 strikeouts in 96 games (432 plate appearances) combined between Greenville and Portland.
The 22-year-old was known for being a contact hitter at Georgia Tech but there were concerns about his impact, one reason he dropped to the fourth round despite now being a first round talent.
The Red Sox asked Campbell to trade some contact to hit for more power and it worked. His strikeout percentage did rise at the beginning of the season while the power increased but the strikeout rate has continued to drop since his arrival in Portland. He had an impressive 13.7% walk percentage and just a 14.9% strikeout percentage at Portland.
Chase Ford of MiLB Central was the first to report the promotion.