Red Sox
“They’re going to be very successful big leaguers.”
Over 20 years in Major League Baseball, 44-year-old pitcher Rich Hill has seen his fair share of talent.
When it comes to predicting the futures of prospects, while Hill doesn’t like to make comparisons, he generally does have a feel for the trajectory of a given player.
If his intuition is right on prospects Kyle Teel, Roman Anthony, and Kristian Campbell, the Red Sox are in for quite a treat.
The Red Sox left-hander Hill, speaking on “310 to Left” with NESN’s Tom Caron and The Boston Globe’s Alex Speier, gushed about the potential of all three players. Hill, who made an appearance for Triple-A Worcester before rejoining the Red Sox in late August, left his brief interactions extremely encouraged by the trajectory of each up-and-comer.
“All three have an incredible aptitude for the game,” Hill told Speier and Caron.
Hill said he spoke with the catcher Teel before, during, and after the game to get on the same page. He said Teel is enthusiastic, intuitive, and wants to learn.
Hill believes the Red Sox will be able to mold him into a catcher that has all the abilities the organization covets.
“His excitement, his rawness, and what I mean by that is his ability to look at the game and see it for what it is,” Hill said, “it’s not really clouded yet, so there’s a lot of great room to be able to lay down the proper foundation.”
As for the 20-year-old outfielder Anthony, Hill said he wouldn’t be surprised to see him on the Red Sox roster out of Spring Training next year.
“If you were going to say that he’s going to be an All-Star next year, it wouldn’t surprise me,” Hill said. “In the running for Rookie of the Year, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
He said Anthony is “well beyond his years in maturity” and, if he’s not ready now, he will be very soon.
As for Campbell, Hill said he noticed his intensity right away. Though Hill initially promised to not make comparisons, he ended up likening one aspect of Campbell’s style of play to a Hall of Famer.
“He has maybe a little bit more of that Frank Thomas front foot kind of finish swing,” Hill said.
He also lauded his ability on the base paths, the way he handles himself, and his quiet charisma, noting that he could also reach the majors very soon.
Hill praised Chief Baseball Officer Craig Breslow and the organization’s ability to find and develop players such as these three budding stars.
“They’re going to be very successful big leaguers,” Hill said.
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