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Kristian Campbell is batting .313 (21 for 67) with a .453 on-base percentage, .478 slugging percentage and .931 OPS in his past 22 games for Triple-A Worcester.
Those numbers resemble what he did in 2024 when he earned two in-season promotions to finish the year at Worcester — and his teammates nicknamed him “Barry Bonds."
“Pretty much took the setup from 2024 when he was going obviously berserk, and then made him essentially kind of switch back to that,” Worcester hitting coach Johnny Reina said in a phone interview Tuesday.
Reina didn’t want to get into details about exact mechanical changes. But Campbell, 24, has put himself in a better position to see the ball longer. He’s turned around his season after posting a .211/.344/.284/.628 line in his first 58 games.
“You wouldn’t believe how hard he worked and he’s been a really good teammate as well,” Reina said. “He’s showed up every day. He worked hard, kept his nose down and did his thing.”
Campbell’s pro ball journey might be unlike any other. In his first full pro season in 2024, he went from an unranked prospect in the Red Sox organization to No. 4 on Baseball America’s Top 100 list.
He was named the Red Sox' 2025 Opening Day starting second baseman. He signed an eight-year, $60 million extension April 2, 2025 and won AL Rookie of the Month for April 2025.
But he then began to struggle. Boston optioned him to Worcester more than 13 months ago and he has yet to return to the big leagues.
“I’d be lying to you if I said it hasn’t been hard on him,” Reina said. “He’s gone through it, trying to figure things out last year and then this year. ... I think my goal for him specifically is I want him to be the best version of himself and be athletic in the box.”
Campbell’s athleticism is one of the reasons the Red Sox have committed to him playing exclusively in the outfield this season. They feel his athleticism plays best there. He’s made 37 starts in right field, 21 in left field and 13 in center field.
“Let him create the movements he wants to create, just being on time to do so,” Reina said. “And that’s really it. To be honest, it wasn’t a lot of mechanical fixes as much as it was trying to get him to just go back to what he was doing that allowed him to be so successful to begin with.”
Campbell’s underlying metrics have also improved.
“His bat speed’s up like three miles an hour,” Reina said.
Reina said Campbell again is showing what he can do when he’s confident, healthy and moving the right way in the box.
“I think the main thing is the fact that he’s a good player,” Reina said. “Obviously there’s a reason why the organization wanted to lock him up long-term, and it’s because of that. And I think a lot of it is starting to show back up again and in obvious fashion and pretty abrupt, to be honest with you.”
Arias belts first Triple-A homer
Franklin Arias’ first Triple-A home run went 386 feet to left field in Worcester’s 4-3 loss to Norfolk on Tuesday. It left his bat at 103.8 mph.
The home run also marked Arias’ first Triple-A hit since being promoted to Worcester late last week.
Home run leaders
Arias, 20, leads all Red Sox minor leaguers with 20 home runs.
| Red Sox minor league home run leaders | Homers | Games | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Franklin Arias | 20 | 78 | Portland/Worcester |
| Yoeilin Cespedes | 18 | 79 | Greenville |
| Brooks Brannon | 17 | 63 | Portland |
| Luke Heyman | 16 | 77 | Salem/Greenville |
| Mason White | 15 | 75 | Greenville/Portland |
| Jack Winnay | 15 | 81 | Greenville/Portland |
| Enddy Azocar | 15 | 80 | Salem/Greenville |
| Isaiah Jackson | 14 | 74 | Greenville |
| Justin Gonzales | 14 | 74 | Greenville |
| Yophery Rodriguez | 13 | 73 | Greenville |
| Johanfran Garcia | 12 | 55 | Portland |
Offensive MVP runner-up
The Red Sox award an annual minor league offensive player of the year. Arias seems to have that wrapped up.
But Jack Winnay, a 23-year-old corner outfielder, should be runner-up.
The Red Sox selected Winnay, a Belmont Hill School graduate from Newton, in the 13th round of the 2025 draft out of Wake Forest. He became the first Red Sox position player prospect from the 2025 class to reach Double A.
He’s batting .312 with a .385 on-base percentage, .505 slugging percentage, .890 OPS, four home runs and six doubles in 25 games (104 plate appearances) since his promotion to Portland.
He and 2025 fourth-round draft pick Mason White each have 15 home runs this season, tying them for the fifth-most home runs in the system.
Gonzales has 1.028 OPS in past 22 games
Justin Gonzales, Boston’s No. 4 overall prospect, is batting .280 with a .455 on-base percentage, .573 slugging percentage, 1.028 OPS and seven home runs over his past 22 games for Greenville. The 19-year-old also has more walks (21) than strikeouts (19) during that stretch.
He belted a two-run walk-off home run to give Greenville a 7-6 win over Hub City on Sunday.
More On Red Sox Prospects
- Red Sox promote prospect with FB touching 98.1 mph to Worcester (and other minor league notes)
- Red Sox rookie’s new tattoo a reminder of moment that put him ‘on radar’
- Red Sox midseason prospect awards: Local kid (13 homers) wins breakout star
- Red Sox ‘trying to dream big’ with draft pick ‘in Jacob Misiorowski mold’
- Red Sox draft ‘incredible athlete’ with 115 mph exit velocities at age 18
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