Kristian Campbell often drew comparisons to Hunter Pence during his quick ascent through the minor leagues.
But the Boston Red Sox' No. 2 prospect’s movements remind Alex Cora of a Boston Celtics star — not a baseball player.
“You look at Jaylen Brown on the court, it’s different, (but) he gets it done,” Cora told reporters on Tuesday, per MLB.com’s Ian Browne. "The way he moves is different from the other athletes in the NBA. Like, honestly, the first five days (of Spring Training), I’m like, ‘Who is (Campbell) as a baseball player?’ I’m like, ‘Jaylen Brown.’ It’s different, you know, the way they run. But they glide and they move and they’re smooth.”
Campbell welcomed the comparison.
“Yeah, that’s different, for sure,” he said. “That’s the first non-baseball one I’ve heard. That’s actually really cool, in my opinion. It’s like, different, but still gets the job done.”
The 22-year-old is trying to make the big-league roster out of camp. While he might have the most realistic path of “The Big Three” of Marcelo Mayer and Roman Anthony, there’s still plenty of developing to do for the infielder.
Campbell began his Grapefruit League going 0-for-12 with eight strikeouts before he broke out of that skid on Monday.
The Red Sox have several players trying to earn a job at second base. It’s not a bad problem to have, but the signing of Alex Bregman made it all the more difficult for someone like Campbell and more so Vaughn Grissom to break camp. Still, it’s a good problem to have. Boston doesn’t have to rush Campbell and can continue to develop him until he’s as close to 100% MLB-ready.
Campbell still has areas to improve, but he knows how to command the strike zone and there’s still plenty of time for him to make an impact for the Red Sox.
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