Just before Sunday’s flight, manager Alex Cora pulled Campbell aside. Cora provided the 22-year-old with a list of big leaguers who’d gone to Georgia Tech — including Jason Varitek, Nomar Garciaparra, Kevin Brown, Jay Payton, among others — before offering the kicker.
“He told me that my name will be added to that list,” said Campbell on Monday. “It’s a dream come true.”
Campbell immediately called his family to share the news, which was greeted by shouts of glee — years of work by the player and support from his family crystallizing into a big league opportunity.
“I look at it as I’ve been working for it my whole life for the moment, so it’s not even about the last six or seven weeks. It’s about the last 15 years,” said Campbell. “It’s a really big opportunity for me and my family. It’s a really big deal coming from Chattanooga, Tenn., all the way to Boston. It’s a big deal to everybody in my family.”
It is also, in many ways, an unlikely opportunity.
Campbell, who was redshirted for a year at Georgia Tech, played just one year of college ball before the Sox took him in the fourth round of the 2023 draft. He then underwent a transformative offseason at the team’s spring training facility, adding strength to jump from his 200-pound college weight to roughly 210 pounds. More importantly, he overhauled his swing and his intent in the batter’s box, looking to drive the ball for extra bases rather than focusing on ground balls.
The results in 2024 — his only full minor league season — were remarkable, with Campbell racing from High A to Double A to Triple A, excelling offensively at each level, and adding defensive responsibilities as the season progressed. That meteoric rise, along with the prospect of having his righthanded bat in the lineup, convinced a number of Red Sox evaluators entering the spring that Campbell, who once again proved an offseason constant in Fort Myers, had a strong opportunity to make the team.
Still, that presumption was based on the idea that he would continue his growth in the spring. Despite relatively pedestrian offensive numbers (.167/.305/.271), the Red Sox felt that’s precisely what occurred — particularly in his second base defense, allowing Campbell to reach the big leagues with very little experience against advanced competition.
“Very wild. But he’s a mature kid and a physical kid. He’s a quick learner, a learner by observation. He watches you do it, and he picks it up right away,” said Cora of Campbell’s rise. “We’ve just got to be patient. You know there’s going to be some good things, some tough things, and some ugly things, but we can live with it.”
With final roster spots still being settled, Cora avoided specifics on Campbell’s role — whether he will be used as the team’s everyday second baseman, or if he might split time between second and left field as he did during spring training. The manager made a point of praising David Hamilton, who also saw significant time at second in the Grapefruit League, on his strong spring (.260/.373/.440) and noted the 27-year-old would also get plenty of playing time.
“Everybody’s going to get at-bats,” said Cora. “Hammy is going to be a big part of this. He’s a game-changer. He can play second and short. We haven’t tried the outfield part of it, but we’re going to throw him in center field here and there. So there’s going to be a lot of at-bats for everybody and that’s a good thing when you believe that you have a good team, a complete team.”
That team will feature a 22-year-old who, in the span of less than a year, has gone from obscurity to status as one of the top prospects in the game, and now a big leaguer. It has been a staggering ascent — one Campbell considered achievable this spring yet that still has an air of unreality.
“I’m going to be super excited,” Campbell said of his big league debut Thursday. when the Red Sox open up on the road against the Rangers. “I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like.”
Soon, he won’t have to imagine.
Alex Speier can be reached at alex.speier@globe.com. Follow him @alexspeier.
