Red Sox Star Prospect Called 'Best Option At Second Base' By Top Analyst

Every Boston Red Sox fan is eager to see any member of Boston’s “Big 3” prospects debut in the big leagues.

Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, and Marcelo Mayer have been generating a ton of buzz for years in Boston’s farm system, but it is the most recently crowned star prospect, Campbell, who might be closest to making an impact at the Major League level.

In a brand new report ranking the top 25 rookies most likely to have an impact in the 2025 season, The Athletic’s Keith Law ranked Campbell No. 8 and even called him Boston’s best bet at second base.

“Campbell’s emergence last year was part of why Boston was willing to part with its 2020 first-rounder, Nick Yorke, in the trade for Quinn Priester,” Law wrote.

“There’s a path for Campbell to win the second-base job this spring, depending on whether Alex Cora is making the decisions on who plays where or whether Rafael Devers is. (To be clear, Devers has a right to be upset, and it’s possible Boston negotiated in bad faith, but unless there’s a secret contract clause that says he’ll stay at third base for some set number of years, he has to move if the team is asking him to do so.)”

“Campbell is the team’s best option at second base right now, assuming Bregman is at third; their best defensive alignment has Campbell at second and Ceddanne Rafaela in center, with Vaughn Grissom probably on the bench. Campbell is their No. 2 prospect, behind Roman Anthony, but Campbell is older and more ready to help the big-league club.”

Given Campbell’s all-around talent, he’s also capable of playing at shortstop or in the outfield for the Red Sox, although he’ll more than likely land in the infield due to Boston already having Jarren Durran, Wilyer Abreu, and Ceddanne Rafaela patrolling the outfield as starters.

Law’s insistence that Campbell should play second base and Bregman third base represents an idea in direct opposition to The Athletic’s Jim Bowden’s opinion that the Red Sox should play Devers at third, a lineup that fan-favorite Red Sox analyst Lou Merloni also advocates for.

It seems more likely than not that Campbell will start the season in Triple-A to continue his development, but if he ended up on the big boy squad on Opening Day, it’s hard to imagine a single Red Sox fan having an issue with such a decision.