Image credit:Luis Campusano (Photo by Bill Mitchell)
RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. — The Padres madeLuis Campusano the first catcher selected in the 2017 draft because of the strength of his all-around game.
He spent his first full season in 2018 primarily showcasing his defense. Now, in year two, he is showing his offensive promise.
Campusano had three hits for the second consecutive game Thursday night, lifting high Class A Lake Elsinore (Padres) to a 14-8 victory over Rancho Cucamonga (Dodgers).
Campusano,the Padres’ No. 19 prospect, raised his batting average to .323 to move into the lead in the California League batting title race. He began the day trailing Lancaster (Rockies) outfielderMatt Hearn, but Hearn went 0-for-3 to cede the lead to Campusano.
“I’m feeling very comfortable when I’m in the box right now,” said Campusano, 20. “Knowing I can play both sides of the ball is really good for me. My priority is always going to be defense, but I’m just doing what I can to help my team win, whether that’s call a good game or drive in some runs.”
Campusano’s presence on Cal League leaderboards goes beyond his batting average. He ranks second with a .400 on-base percentage, is fourth with a .495 slugging percentage and is tied for fourth with 15 doubles. His .895 OPS ranks second in the league.
For anyone to be so prominent on a league leaderboard is impressive. For a catcher to do it, and one who is nearly three years younger than the league average, invites another adjective.
“He’s really special,” Lake Elsinore hitting coach Doug Banks said. “He does some special things. There’s things he can do because he’s just so talented. For him to do what he’s doing at his position, catching, being as young as he is, it really is incredible.”
Campusano, the Padres’ second-round pick in 2017 out of Cross Creek (Ga.) High, has shown patience and contact ability before. He hit .288 with a .345 on-base percentage last year at low Class A Fort Wayne before a foul ball of his mask resulted in a season-ending concussion in July.
What’s different this season is Campusano’s power. He slugged just .366 last season with 14 extra-base hits in 70 games. This year, he’s slugging more than 100 points higher and has already doubled his home run total from last season.
“It’s just my position to hit,” Campusano said. “Last year, I had a toe tap and my hands and my body were together, there was no separation. I got rid of my toe tap and the result is just being in a better position to hit and being able to launch balls a little bit more.”
While Campusano’s exit velocities have always been loud, the result in previous years was most often a hard grounder.
Not anymore. On Wednesday night, Campusano finished 3-for-4 with a double, a walk and three RBI. Most notably, he put the ball in the air each at-bat.
Campusano opened the scoring with a sacrifice fly in the first inning and lined out hard to center field in his second at-bat. He followed with a hit in three consecutive innings to help Lake Elsinore bust the game open. He lined a hard single off the pitcher in the fifth inning, ripped an RBI double to center in the sixth inning and stroked a single over the second baseman into right field in the seventh.
Five contacts, zero ground balls.
“That was one of the things we talked about back at the start of instructs, just wanting to get some balls more put into the air with some backspin,” Banks said. “We looked at some numbers and obviously—instead of balls that were hit straight into the ground that were hard—we wanted balls to be more backspun. It was something that he was aware of and then we just worked on some things to get it to start trending that way, and it’s good to see that it is trending that way.”
Campusano’s power is up, his average is best in the league, and his reputation as a potential above-average defender behind the plate remains intact.
In an elite Padres farm system full of promising prospects, he is standing a cut above.
“I don’t really think of stuff like (batting titles) or anything like that,” Campusano said. “I just try to come out here and try to put good at bats together, not give away any at-bats and just stick with my approach and hit the ball hard. So far, it’s been really good.”
NEWS AND NOTES
— Dodgers’ No. 17 prospect Michael Grove started for Rancho Cucamonga and pitched three innings, gave up three hits and four runs (three earned), walked two and struck out six. The 22-year-old righthander was pulled after 54 pitches, his rough pitch count limit this year in his first year season after Tommy John surgery. Grove’s fastball sat 89-92 mph early before kicking up to 93-94 mph in his final inning. His main secondary was an 81-84 mph vertical slider, and he mixed in a 77-78 mph curveball that is new to his arsenal as well. Grove had success with his fastball up in the zone but got hit hard when he didn’t elevate it, with a triple by Allen Cordoba to lead off the game and a two-run home run by Aldemar Burgos the biggest blows.
— Padres’ No. 26 prospect Esteury Ruiz reached base four times in the rout, drawing three walks and getting hit by a pitch. Ruiz has reached base in 10 of his last 12 games and is slashing .286/.386/.491 since May 1.
— Padres’ No. 29 prospect Gabriel Arias went 0-for-6 with five strikeouts. He struck out in his first five at-bats and avoided tying the league record of six strikeouts in a game by flying out to right field in his final plate appearance.
Comments are closed.
With seven picks inside the top 100 and the largest bonus pool amount in MLB, the Orioles are now primed for whatever opportunities arise on draft day.
With his K-Time for Cystic Fibrosis campaign, Jamie Arnold has used his impressive ability on the mound to help give back.
On the eve of the 2025 MLB Draft, we look back at last year’s first-round selections to see who is living up to expectations early in their pro careers.
There are 14 players we see as having arguments for immediate inclusion on the Top 100 as soon as they are selected.
With the MLB Draft just days a way, Peter Flaherty digs deep into the BA 500 rankings to highlight some sleepers to watch.
On the latest ‘From Phenom to the Farm,’ former Brewers minor leaguer and CFP Jonathan Perrin joins to break down the financial changes of college baseball.
On this week’s Prospect Podcast, Geoff and J.J. are digging in on some deep sleeper MLB prospects to know from our recent Top 30s update.
On this week’s Hot Sheet Show, Carlos Collazo, Peter Flaherty and J.J. Cooper react to the big Nationals news, break down Staff Draft 3.0 and more.
On this week’s Draft Podcast, Carlos and Peter discuss exciting players to know in the 2025 MLB Draft, including fast movers & toolsy prospects.
On this week’s episode of Future Projection, Ben Badler and Carlos Collazo discuss BA’s latest Top 100 Prospects update and lots more.
On this week’s Fantasy Podcast, Geoff & Dylan dig into some young players in MLB and ask the all-important question: Are we buying or selling?
Read the newest magazine issue right on your phone
Join our social media community