Kristian Campbell belts first Polar Park homer 108-mph off his bat; 'We got a good player on our hands'
Red Sox prospect Kristian Campbell has not slowed down at the plate since his promotion to Triple-A Worcester last week.
Through his first six games with the WooSox, the infielder/outfielder is slashing .333/.400/.704 with three homers, one double, 12 RBI, three walks, and one stolen base with an 1.104 OPS.
“We got a good player on our hands,” WooSox skipper Chad Tracy said to reporters before the series opener against the Toledo Mud Hens at Polar Park on Tuesday. He definitely belongs here and then some.”
Campbell quickly wow’d WooSox fans, belting his first homer at Polar Park in Worcester’s 12-2 win. He roped a 431 foot blast to deep left center field—with an exit velocity of 108 mph off his bat.
“It’s really cool. I can’t really put it into words,” Campbell said to reporters, including Worcester Telegram & Gazette’s Tommy Cassell. “I’m just here playing baseball every day, in Triple-A right now, playing one game at a time (and) focused on one game at a time.
“When the time is right, everything will fall into place, and yeah, that's really it. Just keep playing hard every day.”
Campbell has mostly played shortstop with the WooSox, a position many thought Marcelo Mayer would be manning after he was promoted a few weeks ago. Instead, the 21-year-old is likely done for the season with a lumbar strain.
The former product of Georgia Tech has played four games at shortstop and two in center field.
With the calendar turning to September in a couple of days, Campbell’s name recently came up as a possible call-up candidate when rosters expand.
“We’ve been talking about it, and obviously versatility comes into play,” Alex Cora said Saturday. “We’re very left-handed, too. So trying to create balance. The whole utility-fast guy comes into play, too. So we’ve been talking about it for a few weeks.”
Cora told reporters that the club intends to use one of their additional roster spots on a position player and the other on a pitcher. If Campbell doesn’t get the nod on Sept. 1, he could be added during the middle of the month.
