FORT MYERS, Fla. — Red Sox prospect Kristian Campbell grew up in Chattanooga, Tenn., near AT&T Field, home of the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts.
As an 8-year-old in 2010, he’d stand with other kids near the dugouts asking players to sign autographs.
“Throw the ball to me and I’ll catch it and throw it back,” Campbell said Baseball America’s 2010 preseason No. 46 prospect told him before one game as he stood in the stands.
That was the beginning of a long-lasting friendship between Campbell and Dee Strange-Gordon, then a top Dodgers prospect who went on to become a two-time All-Star, Silver Slugger winner and Gold Glover. Strange-Gordon would stand on the field and throw the ball back and forth with Campbell in the stands.
“And then I got onto the field a couple weeks later once he kept seeing me over and over,” Campbell told MassLive at Boston’s Fall Performance Program at JetBlue Park in Fort Myers in September.
“So I was always on the field. I was like 7, 8 years old throwing baseballs with him and the manager,” Campbell added. “That was my first experience with baseball and I just kept going from there.”
The Red Sox drafted Campbell in the fourth round (132nd overall) in June out of Georgia Tech with the compensation pick they received when Xander Bogaerts left in free agency last offseason to sign with the Padres.
$200 INSTANT BONUS
DRAFTKINGS MASS
BET $5, GET $200 BONUS BET
FANDUEL MASS
BET $50, GET $250 BONUS
CAESARS MASS
$1,000 FIRST-BET BONUS
BETMGM MASS
MA only. 21+. Gambling Problem? If you or a loved one is experiencing problems with gambling, please call 1-800-327-5050 or visit gamblinghelplinema.org for 24/7 support. LiveChat with a GameSense Advisor at GameSenseMA.com or call 1-800-GAM-1234
MA Gambling Helpline.
Campbell, a 21-year-old who plays middle infield and outfield, went 21-for-68 (.309 batting average) with a .441 on-base percentage, .471 slugging percentage, .911 OPS, one homer, four doubles, two triples, nine runs, five RBIs, three steals, 10 walks and 18 strikeouts in 22 games combined between the Florida Complex League Red Sox (eight games) and High-A Greenville (14 games) after signing with Boston.
Why did Strange-Gordon pick Campbell out of all the kids to play catch? At the time, the Lookouts were the Dodgers’ Double-A affiliate and the 2010 roster also included Kenley Jansen.
“I got lucky, I guess,” Campbell said. “I think it’s because I just kept showing up to the games. I just kept showing up. Those Lookout games were right down the street from where we lived. I was just like every other kid … at 7, 8, 9, 10, just up there wanting autographs. And he just happened to pick me. I guess showing up every day, he started recognizing my face.”
Campbell, a 6-foot-3, 191-pound right-handed hitter, plays a similar game as Strange-Gordon who led the league in hits in 2015 and stolen bases three times (2014, ‘15, ‘17). Campbell always admired Strange-Gordon’s ability to make contact. The left-handed hitter posted an impressive 14.8% strikeout percentage in 11 big league seasons.
“Contact, being able to hit the ball and running,” Campbell said about what he incorporates from Strange-Gordon’s game into his own. “As I’ve gotten bigger, it’s changed a little bit.”
Campbell struck out only 17 times in 217 plate appearances (7.8% strikeout percentage) at Georgia Tech this past spring as a sophomore.
Baseball America wrote in his draft scouting report, “Campbell’s calling card is his elite contact rate. He posted a 90% overall contact rate this spring with a tremendous in-zone contact rate of 94%. Campbell crowds the plate and hits against a slightly closed off front side. He has plus hand speed that allows him to turn on pitches that sometimes look like they might hit him, and sprays the ball all over the yard.”
“Really just (make) contact, put the ball in play,” Campbell said, explaining his plate approach. “Find a way to get on base any way I can. Try to be a tough out. I’ve always tried to be that guy.
“I just hit the balls where they’re pitched,” he added. “I don’t really think about it too much. I just try to hit the ball as hard as I can where it’s pitched into the gaps.”
Campbell’s dad Kenneth Campbell, who never played baseball, was a running back at the University of Tennessee. He played from 1990-92 for the Volunteers who were nationally ranked each season.
“He didn’t want me to play football,” Campbell said. “He went through a lot with football so he didn’t want me to get into that.”
Baseball was the only sport Campbell played growing up, he said. Attending Lookouts games is a major reason he grew to love baseball.
“I used to be on the field playing with him (Strange-Gordon) all the time so that kind of introduced me to baseball,” Campbell said.
Campbell’s family eventually moved to Marietta Ga., which is close to Truist Park, home of the Atlanta Braves. He attended some of Strange-Gordon’s Marlins games against the Braves.
Campbell was listed as a shortstop in the draft but he appeared in 15 games at second base, four games in left field and two games in right field in his first pro ball experience after being drafted. On Sept. 17, the Greenville Drive posted a video of an excellent diving catch he made after covering significant ground in left field.
“I was listed as an infielder, mainly a middle infielder, but I can also play the outfield,” he said. “At Georgia Tech, I just played second base. I’ve always taken reps in the outfield during batting practice and stuff. So it’s always come kind of natural.”
Campbell redshirted as a freshman at Georgia Tech in 2022. He played in the Northwoods League for Duluth in summer 2022. He batted .356 (73-for-205) with a .469 on-base percentage, .463 slugging percentage, .932 OPS, two homers, 10 doubles, three triples, 45 runs, 45 RBIs, 37 walks, 47 strikeouts and 31 stolen bases in 58 games (258 plate appearances).
“Summer baseball really helped me get on track,” he said. “So basically I played my season there and it kind of introduced me to different college arms, different people from different places since I didn’t see pitching in the regular season at Georgia Tech that year. It got me ready for the next year. So I kind of developed in the summer and then I kind of jumped into Tech my sophomore year and just hit the ground running.”
Both Nomar Garciaparra and Jason Varitek were stars at Georgia Tech.
“I’ve actually seen Varitek a couple times,” Campbell said. “He came to the school and talked to the whole baseball team. It’s kind of funny because I didn’t know I was going to be a Red Sox at the time. It was in the fall (2022).”
Other stories from the Red Sox’s Fall Performance Program:
Red Sox prospect plays with Pedroia ‘mentality,’ saw ‘08 MVP just miss feat
‘Muscular’ Red Sox C prospect has ‘5 hole’ power, cool reason for catching
New Red Sox OF prospect beat cancer, cousin ‘saved’ his life with tackle
Top Red Sox prospect with ‘best’ fastball (98 mph) studies Justin Verlander
Red Sox prospect up to 97 mph ‘motivated’ by mentor Brayan Bello, ex-roomie
Red Sox power-hitting C prospect read Ted Williams’ book ‘a million times’
Red Sox’ Nate Eovaldi comp pick went ‘straight to’ mall after being drafted
