Padres' Luis Campusano: Flashing power this spring
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Campusano leads San Diego with three home runs in Cactus League play, and he's slashing .231/.333/.654 with a 4:6 BB:K over 31 plate appearances.
Campusano has only two homers through his first 85 big-league at-bats, but he went deep 14 times in 319 bats in Triple-A last season after hitting 15 long balls each of the previous two full minor-league seasons. Austin Nola (nose) projects to be the Padres' primary catcher to begin the campaign, but Campusano should be his backup and could push for more playing time if he swings the bat well.
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Padres' Luis Campusano: On track to play Wednesday
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Campusano (hamstring) is scheduled to return to the Padres' Cactus League lineup Wednesday, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.
Campusano hasn't played in several days because of a hamstring injury, but it sounds like he's almost ready to go. The 24-year-old is competing with Austin Nola for playing time at catcher for San Diego this season. Campusano has hit very well in the minors but has yet to see that production carry over during his brief time in the majors.
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Padres' Luis Campusano: Belts first homer
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Campusano went 2-for-3 with a solo home run in a 2-0 win against the Diamondbacks on Saturday.
Campusano made the most of a rare start behind the plate, swatting a solo homer off Zac Gallen in the fourth inning for one of two Padres runs in the contest. The long ball was his first this season and his second over 23 career games. Campusano has shown good pop in the minors, but he's clearly behind Austin Nola and Jorge Alfaro on San Diego's catcher depth chart for the time being.
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Padres' Luis Campusano: Recalled Friday
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Campusano was recalled from Triple-A El Paso on Friday.
Campusano has been in the minors since the start of May but will rejoin the active roster to provide depth behind primary catcher Austin Nola after Jorge Alfaro (knee) was placed on the 10-day injured list. Campusano hit .083 with a run, an RBI and two strikeouts over four big-league games earlier in the year.
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Padres' Luis Campusano: Optioned to Triple-A
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Campusano was optioned to Triple-A El Paso on Sunday.
Campusano spent a week with the major-league club, and he went 1-for-12 with a run, an RBI and two strikeouts over four games. He'll likely see more consistent playing time in the minors and should be one of the top candidates for a call-up if the Padres need catching depth.
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Padres' Luis Campusano: Optioned to Triple-A
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Campusano was optioned to Triple-A El Paso on Wednesday.
The 23-year-old appeared to have a better chance of making San Diego's Opening Day roster after Victor Caratini was shipped to Milwaukee earlier in the day, but the young backstop will still begin the 2022 campaign at the Triple-A level. Austin Nola and Jorge Alfaro will operate as the Padres' two catchers with Campusano returning to El Paso, where he hit .295/.365/.541 with 15 home runs and 45 RBI last year.
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Padres' Luis Campusano: Could benefit from Caratini trade
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There could be room on the Padres' Opening Day roster for Campusano now that Victor Caratini has been traded to the Brewers, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com suggests.
Campusano was essentially blocked from a roster spot with Austin Nola, Jorge Alfaro and Caratini all ahead of him on the catcher depth chart, but he could break camp with the big club now that Caratini is out of the picture. Of course, that would require San Diego to decide to carry three catchers, which is far from a certainty. Campusano didn't do much to help his case this spring, as he batted .118 (2-for-17) with nine strikeouts, though both of his hits were home runs.
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Padres' Luis Campusano: Battling oblique injury
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Campusano didn't play for Triple-A El Paso after Aug. 30 due to an oblique injury, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Campusano spent the majority of the 2021 campaign with El Paso, slashing .295/.365/.541 with 15 home runs in 326 plate appearances. San Diego recalled Campusano from El Paso on Tuesday in a procedural move, but it's unclear if the 23-year-old is healthy at this point. In any case, he should be ready to go ahead of spring training, when he should get the chance to compete for the No. 2 catcher job with the big club.
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Padres' Luis Campusano: Enjoying strong season in Triple-A
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Campusano is slashing .295/.365/.541 with 15 home runs and 45 RBI through 81 games with Triple-A El Paso.
The backstop struggled during his time with the Padres earlier in the campaign, going 3-for-34 with a 28.9 percent strikeout rate. However, he's thrived in his first stint at the Triple-A level and just completed a superb August during which he slashed .373/.458/.765 with six homers and 13 RBI across 15 contests. Campusano was the California League co-MVP in 2019 and remains firmly embedded as one of the organization's top hitting prospects. He's unlikely to make much of an impact at the big-league level this season with Austin Nola and Victor Caratini holding down catcher duties while the Padres fight for a playoff spot, but Campusano could have a future as the team's top backstop.
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Padres' Luis Campusano: Late scratch, optioned Wednesday
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Campusano won't start Wednesday against the Diamondbacks and was optioned to the alternate training site.
The 22-year-old was penciled in to start behind the plate in Wednesday's series finale, but he'll instead head to the alternate site with Austin Nola (finger) returning from the injured list. Campusano worked as San Diego's secondary catcher for the first month of the season and went 3-for-34 with four walks, one RBI and 11 strikeouts in 11 appearances. He figures to remain at the alternate site while Nola and Victor Caratini remain healthy.
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Padres' Luis Campusano: Legal troubles resolved
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Georgia prosecutors dropped felony marijuana possession charges against Campusano on Friday due to a lack of probable cause for the traffic stop that led to his October arrest, Jeff Sanders of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Campusano was pulled over in the early morning and found with 79 grams (2.8 ounces) of marijuana in his car. The offense is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison in Georgia but results in a much lighter sentence in other parts of the country. In Camupasano's case, it won't result in any punishment at all. Campusano will remain as the Padres' backup catcher in the short term, but he'll likely head to the minors once Austin Nola (finger) gets healthy.
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Padres' Luis Campusano: Secures Opening Day spot
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Campusano will open the season on the big-league roster while Austin Nola (finger) heads to the injured list, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.
Nola's injury isn't expected to keep him out long, and Campusano will be stuck behind Victor Caratini during his time on the roster, so he might not get the chance to make more than two or three starts before being sent back to the minors. Campusano could surface from time to time this season if Nola or Caratini gets hurt, but he's probably not yet ready to make a significant impact, as his one-game debut last season represents his only appearance to date above the High-A level.
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Padres' Luis Campusano: Could make roster with Nola injury
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Campusano would be in line to make the Padres' Opening Day roster if Austin Nola (finger) isn't ready by Opening Day, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.
Nola fractured the middle finger on his left (non-throwing) hand Saturday, casting doubt upon his ability to play when the regular season kicks off. If Nola is unable to go, Victor Caratini would likely open the season as the Padres' primary catcher, with Campusano filling in as the backup. The 22-year-old has enjoyed a strong spring, slashing .313/.421/.438 with a pair of doubles. He has struck out only three times in 16 at-bats.
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Padres' Luis Campusano: Hit with drug charge
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Campusano was charged with felony marijuana possession in his home state of Georgia on Saturday, Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
Campusano was pulled over in the early morning and found with 79 grams (2.8 ounces) of marijuana in his car. Georgia law dictates that possession of more than one ounce of marijuana is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison. What exactly will happen with Campusano, and how exactly his baseball career will be affected, remains to be seen.
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Padres' Luis Campusano: Returns from IL
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The Padres reinstated Campusano (wrist) from the 10-day injured list and included him on the 28-man roster for the team's wild-card series with the Cardinals that begins Wednesday.
He'll serve as the Padres' No. 3 catcher behind Austin Nola and Jason Castro during the three-game series. Campusano appeared in one game before being shut down in early September with a sprained left wrist, going 1-for-3 with a solo home run in that contest.
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Padres' Luis Campusano: Contract selected by Padres
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Campusano's contract was selected by the Padres on Friday.
Campusano will make his major-league debut Friday as he serves as the designated hitter and bats seventh against the Athletics. The 21-year-old had a .905 OPS with 15 home runs and 81 RBI at the High-A level, but it's unclear whether he'll see significant playing time on the major-league roster.
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Padres' Luis Campusano: Could get September callup
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The Padres are considering calling up Campusano sometime this month, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.
While San Diego recently acquired two catchers -- Jason Castro and Austin Nola -- in separate trades, Nola's ability to play the infield could make it easier for the team to carry another backstop. Campusano has yet to advance to the Double-A level in the minors, but he has impressed enough at the team's alternate training site to potentially warrant a late-season callup. Lin notes that the 21-year-old hit two home runs in the presence of general manager A.J. Preller at the University of San Diego (where non-active players in the team's 60-man player pool are training) on Tuesday.
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Padres' Luis Campusano: Making noise at satellite camp
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Campusano has been impressive while training at the Padres' alternate site, AJ Cassavell of MLB.com reports.
Campusano was included in the Padres' player pool after slashing .325/.396/.509 and winning co-MVP honors in the California League last season. Per Cassavell, the 21-year-old has been "red-hot" at the alternate site, hitting multiple "loud" home runs and strengthening his status as the team's catcher of the future. While Campusano wasn't expected to arrive in the big leagues until 2021, there is an outside chance that he could be called upon to help out the big-league club this season given the struggles of both Austin Hedges and Francisco Mejia (thumb) so far in 2020.
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Padres' Luis Campusano: Heading to summer camp
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Campusano will be part of the Padres' 60-man summer camp.
This is hardly surprising, as MLB teams need a handful of catchers in their 60-man player pools in order to work with their young pitchers and Campusano has a chance to be the Padres' catcher of the future. However, he is clearly behind Francisco Mejia and Austin Hedges on the depth chart and Luis Torrens is probably a better bet to get MLB action as well, considering Campusano has never played above High-A.
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Padres' Luis Campusano: Could make taxi squad
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Campusano is a candidate to be placed on the Padres' taxi squad if a 2020 season takes place, Dennis Lin of The Athletic reports.
Campusano probably isn't ready for a leap to the major leagues -- he spent all of last season in High-A ball -- but placement on the taxi squad may be the best way to continue his development considering the perilous state of the minor-league season. The 21-year-old is coming off a co-MVP campaign in the California League and is considered the top catching prospect in the Padres' system.
