WORCESTER — As Kristian Campbell stood on the field at Polar Park prior to the first game of the Triple-A season, he considered the milestone for a moment.
Friday marked the one-year anniversary of Campbell’s big league debut against the Rangers, the beginning of a dizzying period: The first hit, the first homer, lifetime security in the form of a $60 million long-term contract, AL Rookie of the Month honors in April (when he hit .301/.407/.495), a steep decline that started in May (.163/.248/.228 in 37 games) and led to his demotion to Triple-A — a level where he remained anchored for the rest of the season, and where he is opening the 2026 campaign.
“It feels long ago,” Campbell acknowledged of last year’s Opening Day. “I actually had time to sit down and process what happened last year in the offseason. But during the season, everything was super quick. Everything went by so fast.”
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And so, the goal now is for Campbell — whose game action is expected to come exclusively in the outfield to start this year — to find the right rhythm on the treadmill of player development.
He’s a minor leaguer striving to re-establish his credentials as a big leaguer and he’s not hiding from that fact. He’s also comfortable that, less than three years into his professional career and still just 23 years old, Triple-A represents a productive setting rather than a disappointment.
“I moved so quickly that it’s like I’m on time,” he said.
Campbell understands the work that needs to be done. He’s still gaining comfort with major swing changes he made during the offseason to become more square to the pitcher (rather than incredibly closed in his stance) and to lower his hands to shoulder height to shorten his path to the ball and allow him to improve his contact point.
In some respects, Campbell is a victim of his own previous success when it comes to expectations. After he entered pro ball, he overhauled his swing in the span of one offseason and unlocked incredible results, going from a slap-and-dash hitter in his one year of college ball at Georgia Tech to an extra-base machine whom minor teammates started calling “Barry Bonds.”
In winning Minor League Player of the Year honors in 2024, Campbell made it seem easy to make swing changes, carry those into the season, and achieve extraordinary results. But that sequence almost never happens so quickly, so directly, and so Campbell is now dealing with a more traditional evolution.
“There was a part of us that was amazed at how easy he did it and how strong he performed, not just at one level but across multiple levels [in 2024] and even into the big leagues [last April],” said Sox farm director Brian Abraham.
But then came a hard slap of reality as pitchers started pounding him inside and Campbell proved unable to make the needed adjustments to re-establish offseason success. That led to the decision to make his swing changes in the offseason, which remain a work in progress.
His new mechanics are starting to feel more natural, aided by what he characterized as improved clarity about the approach needed for sustainable success. Instead of his college focus on hitting grounders or reaching for power in 2025, he’s looking for hard liners up the middle.
In batting cage work, he’s sometimes flashing the elite exit velocities that put him on the map as a top prospect in 2024. Eventually, he and the Sox hope, it will start showing up in games again as well.
But the results won’t necessarily be immediate. He hit .220/.304/.341 with just two walks in 46 spring training plate appearances. He’s still mid-metamorphosis.
“He made a significant change to his mechanics over this offseason and it’s still relatively early in terms of … [being] able to go up the next at-bat not having to feel like he needs to change something immediately,” said Abraham. “That just takes time.”
Campbell accepts that notion. He sees a return to Boston as something that will only be possible if he commits himself fully to his needed work and time in Worcester.
“The only thing I can do is be as consistent as possible and work on my skills, and whenever the opportunity opens up again, I’ll be able to jump back into that spot, go back up and really play like I never missed a beat,” said Campbell. “I know it’s not going to be forever [in Triple-A]. I’m young. I’m looking forward to being a consistent major league baseball player, everyday player. I know it’s coming back around. You’ve just got to be patient and work so whenever the time comes [to return to the big leagues], I’ll be ready.”
Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him @alexspeier.