Watch: Kristian Campbell making his play to be in the Red Sox starting lineup on Opening Day

Don't look now, but Kristian Campbell is making his play to be in the Red Sox starting lineup on Opening Day. Though the Red Sox were pummeled by the Baltimore Orioles, 12-3, Campbell owned a good chunk of the stage as the Sox began their final full week of spring training games in Fort Myers. Campbell went 1-for-3 with a double and walk while also making a handful of good plays in the field, the latter of which carries significant weight as the Red Sox continue their seemingly never-ending search for Dustin Pedroia's successor at second base. Entering yesterday, manager Alex Cora noted Campbell's offensive struggles this spring, but he certainly sounds like someone who is giving him every chance to make the team. “Campbell has struggled,” Cora said in the days leading up to yesterday. “That's part of it, right? Not everybody is going to be able to slow it down in camp and be perfect, but that's part of the progression. But, yeah, I mean, playing time is important, the development of the player is important, but I think winning games right now is more important.” If you take that as some indication that Campbell is not ready for prime time ... don't. Campbell is the most talented candidate the Sox have in the competition at second base and Cora is the kind of manager who is more than inclined to go with him as a result. Frankly, he's tired of losing with inferior talent. And can you blame him? Let's start with the offense: Campbell started and batted eighth yesterday in what very much looked like a strong candidate to be the Sox' opening day lineup. Heretofore, he has shown an advanced hitting approach to take many pitches toward right-center field, though here he turned on a flat breaking ball and ripped it into the left field corner for a double. https://youtu.be/WTLWnSwdScI While Campbell also struck out yesterday - he has a team-leading 15 strikeouts in 36 official spring at-bats - the more important area to watch is likely his defense, especially given his relative inexperience at second base. That said, Campbell made three good plays afield yesterday, all to his right. On the second of these, too, he did a nice job bouncing a throw to first base that made it quite easy for Triston Casas to handle. You can see all three of those plays here. We've slowed down the first so that you can get a better look: https://youtu.be/Y0xmR6SZdyQ Does this all mean Campbell has locked up the job? That remains unclear - at least until Cora says so. But all things being equal, the Sox' best lineup seems to include Campbell at second base with David Hamilton coming off the bench as a utility player, leaving the underwhelming Vaughn Grissom as the odd man out a candidate for depth and/or trade. Campbell, who was the only Sox starter to play all nine innings yesterday, is scheduled to play second base again today against the Yankees in Tampa - another promising sign for fans who want to see Campbell in the lineup. At this stage of camp, it is customary for managers to play their starters more regularly before teams break camp next week.