Red Sox Staffer Assesses First Season Of New Pitching Development Plan
The Boston Red Sox entered a new era of pitching development when Craig Breslow took over as chief baseball officer. He brought brighter minds to Boston with pitching coach Andrew Bailey and director of pitching Justin Willard to help enact his vision.
The Red Sox set out to internally improve returning arms, rework pitch arsenals and maximize preparation. While the results have been up and down in 2024, there’s no doubt that numerous pitchers showed that the pitching process in the organization is on the rise.
Starters Tanner Houck, Kutter Crawford and Brayan Bello all made 30 starts for the first time, while young arms such as Richard Fitts, Luis Guerrero and Zach Penrod jumped to make an impact in the big leagues with the Red Sox.
Willard joined NESN’s Tom Caron and The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier on the “310 To Left” podcast to discuss the first season of this program and the next steps on the mound for the Red Sox
Red Sox’ Kristian Campbell named Baseball America’s Minor League Player of the Year
Top Red Sox prospect Kristian Campbell has been named Baseball America’s 2014 Minor League Player of the Year, the publication announced on Tuesday.
Campbell enjoyed a meteoric rise in his first full professional season after being selected by the Red Sox with the 132nd overall pick in the 2023 draft out of Georgia Tech. The 22-year-old was not ranked among Boston’s top 30 prospects by Baseball America to open the 2024 campaign and did not draw too much attention as a result
After adding strength and overhauling his swing to better impact the baseball over the winter, Campbell broke camp with High-A Greenville this spring. The right-handed hitter batted .306/.418/.558 with 13 doubles, eight home runs, 25 RBIs, 29 runs scored, three stolen bases, 26 walks, and 47 strikeouts in 40 games (177 plate appearances) for the Drive. He was named the South Atlantic League Player of the Month for May and was promoted to Double-A Portland in early June.
In his next 56 games for the Sea Dogs, Campbell slashed a stout .362/.463/.582 with 17 doubles, three triples, eight home runs, 35 RBIs, 48 runs scored, 17 stolen bases, 35 walks, and 38 strikeouts over 255 plate appearances. He was named the Eastern League Player of the Week twice (June 10-16, August 5-11) and the Eastern League Player of the Month for June before receiving another promotion to Triple-A Worcester in late August.
