The Boston Red Sox had Kristian Campbell on their Opening Day roster last season, and he got off to a hot start.
Campbell signed an eight-year, $60 million deal early in the year. The Red Sox trusted him in the big leagues despite just 19 Triple-A games under his belt. However, his hot start did not last forever, and he hit below .200 in his final 57 big-league games. His defense was not great either.
The Red Sox sent him back down and made him a full-time outfielder. His hitting was still a work in progress this year, but in July he turned a corner. Campbell slashed .379/.507/.552 in 19 games in July. He had two home runs and 13 walks in that span as well. He was named the WooSox Player of the Month.
In August, he is slashing .306/.395/.528 with one home run and five doubles. He has tied his season high for extra-base hits in a month already. He is making a strong case to return to the big leagues.
Jarren Duran has not played well this year, and it may be worth giving Campbell a shot. Duran has been hitting slightly better as of late, but overall, he has been a disappointment. Roman Anthony is getting closer to a return and will reclaim left field. However, in the meantime, Campbell could provide the team with a spark there.
At the very least, he could replace Eli White on the roster and platoon with Duran in left field while the team awaits Anthony's return. It was not a surprise that Campbell struggled in the big leagues last year. He had very little Triple-A experience, but now he has 185 Triple-A games and 659 at-bats under his belt.