Did Red Sox's No. 2 Prospect Lock Up Starting Second Base Job On Saturday?

A potentially pivotal day for the youngster

Kristian Campbell comes off the field during a Red Sox Spring Training game on March 11, 2025, at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers, Florida. / WooSox Photo/Ashley Green / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The most open competition of the spring for the Boston Red Sox has been the starting second base job. And Saturday may have proven to be a tipping point.

Once it became clear newcomer Alex Bregman would play third base, not second, all eyes shifted to those battling for the keystone. For most of the spring, number-two prospect Kristian Campbell, returner David Hamilton, and embattled trade acquisition Vaughn Grissom were the main contenders.

If the Red Sox's brain trust were hooked up to a lie detector test, they'd likely have said before the spring that they wanted Campbell to win the job. But throughout camp, he hadn't done much, especially in the batter's box, to earn it.

On Saturday, which was one of the final opportunities to make a statement, Campbell showed up in a major way. He made a diving catch at second, hit a rocket lineout to center field, then homered to right field in his final at-bat, possibly eliminating any lingering doubts about whether he was ready for starting duties.

And perhaps the stats never mattered all that much to begin with. Before the game, manager Alex Cora expressed his confidence in Campbell's progress throughout the spring, saying his process had been improving even if the numbers didn't back it up.

“I saw some underlying numbers. People like that, right? He’s trending in the right direction,” Cora said, per MassLive's Chris Cotillo. “He’s hitting the ball hard and not chasing. He’s a good hitter, man. Last year, going into the season, we knew (Ceddanne) Rafaela was going to chase pitches and not catch up with the fastball. This year, if you take a look at the at-bats of the kids... Kristian was chasing pitches, and now he’s not.

“It’s whatever you guys want to make it. The numbers, you can massage them to make it work or not make it work. We all know that. But we trust the at-bats.”

At the conclusion of play Saturday, Campbell is slashing .174/.304/.283. That does not include the homer he hit against the Tampa Bay Rays' top prospect squad during the Spring Breakout exhibition on Mar. 13.

The Red Sox only have one spring training game left (Sunday against the Minnesota Twins) and two exhibition games in Monterrey, Mexico before Opening Day. Soon enough, we'll know if Campbell is ready for his close-up.

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