The Road to The Show™: Luis Campusano
Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken to reach the brink of realizing his Major League dream. Here's a look at San Diego Padres catcher Luis Campusano. For more player journeys on The Road to The Show, click here.
Each week, MiLB.com profiles an elite prospect by chronicling the steps he's taken to reach the brink of realizing his Major League dream. Here's a look at San Diego Padres catcher Luis Campusano. For more player journeys on The Road to The Show, click here.
The first catcher taken in the 2017 Draft,
After putting up solid numbers as an 18-year-old in the Rookie-level Arizona League during his first summer as a pro – Campusano hit .269/.344/.388 in 37 games – the right-handed hitter reported to Class A Fort Wayne in the Midwest League to open the 2018 season. At 19, he was nearly 2 1/2 years younger than the circuit's average position player.
Campusano batted .293/.368/.384 for the TinCaps in the first half of 2018 and was named to the East Division squad at the Midwest League All-Star Game in Lansing in June. The second half of Campusano’s season was cut short by a concussion that ended his campaign in late July. In all, he played 70 games for Fort Wayne – 38 of them behind the plate, four at first base and the rest as a designated hitter.
The Padres have a reputation for promoting their prospects aggressively and, despite Campusano’s lack of experience behind the plate, they assigned him to the Class A Advanced California League to start 2019 with the Lake Elsinore Storm.
It was in California where Campusano, now 20, took his game to the next level.
Still considered raw defensively, he proved himself more than ready to take over full-time duties behind the plate. Campusano caught 77 games for the Storm and committed nine errors while allowing only four passed balls and throwing out 23 percent of would-be basestealers. He has a plus arm and, despite his listed weight of 232 pounds, has the athleticism to block balls in the dirt. San Diego’s development staff is also excited by his improvement in working with pitchers and receiving.
While his defensive development was heartening for the Padres front office, Campusano’s progress with the bat was off the charts. The youngster collected 18 hits in his first 10 games with the Storm and rolled to the Cal League batting crown with a .325 average. He also clubbed 15 homers in 110 games – he’d hit only three a year earlier with Fort Wayne – and drew nearly as many walks (52) as he had strikeouts (57). The breakthrough performance earned Campusano a share of the Cal League MVP award.
It wasn’t just the added power, something the Cal League is known to produce. (Lake Elsinore’s park, however, is quite pitcher-friendly – 11 of Campusano’s 15 homers were hit on the road.) His approach at the plate was a clear step forward, hitting more balls in the air than ever before, showing a willingness to take walks and lay off pitches out of his barrel area. The Padres expect him to ultimately develop above-average power which, coupled with his ability to hit for average and play a premium defensive position, mark him as player with a very bright future.
As MLB Pipeline's No. 51 overall prospect, No. 4 among catchers and No. 4 in the deep Padres system, Campusano was considered the organization's catcher of the future. Poor production behind the plate accelerated the timeline.
Last week, San Diego dealt starting catcher
MLB.com’s AJ Cassavell reported in August that Campusano was “red hot” at the University of San Diego and has hit “some ‘loud home runs,’ according to one person familiar with the nightly results.”
Those nightly results carried over to the big leagues, where Campusano smacked an opposite-field solo homer in the third at-bat of his debut in Oakland.
John Parker is an editor for MiLB.com.