Padres Select Luis Campusano with Pick #39 in the 2017 MLB Draft * With Video
After selecting Mackenzie Gore with the third pick in the draft, the Padres turned their attention towards their second selection.
Holding the 39th position in the draft, the Padres again went with the best athlete on the board. Or at least that is what they feel.
A.J. Preller indicated that was the team’s strategy and they kept to it.
Building a sold core is very important, as the Padres are a team built to win in the future. There is plenty to like within the Padres’ minor league system. This past year has been overwhelming to Padre fans in terms of the amount of talent that was added to the team.
It is an exciting time to be a fan of the San Diego Padres. These first two selections help invigorate a fan base that is going through a hard time. Let’s face it, the current Friars’ team isn’t able to compete every night. However, there are still things to be excited about.
Nights like this one are exciting for the fan base. Unlike most other times, there is a sense of confidence that this regime can scout, and more importantly develop, talent that will succeed at the major league level.
With pick #39, the Padres selected a catcher who has power and can really provide solid defense behind the dish.
Luis Campusano has legit power, but his bat is a work in progress. He is the son of former Pirates’ minor league catcher, Genaro Campusano, of the Dominican Republic. The Georgia high school prep catcher had great success this senior year. His swing is a bit long, but the power potential is real. Like most catchers, he provides no speed.
He is an extraordinary young man. Check out this video of the young man and look at his swing.
The Padres are happy with his development, and more importantly, excited about his demeanor. The young man has shown the proper intangibles to be able to progress in professional baseball. A.J. Preller and Mark Conner got their man. Now lets hope the next few selections go this smoothly.
Another video of this young man showcases his defensive abilities which scouts rave about. He is calm behind the dish and at the age of 18, should be a decent prospect for the team.
The Padres are once again building for the future. It is an exciting time to be a Padre fan.
We will have more on this young backstop in the coming days.
James was born and raised in America’s Finest City. He is a passionate baseball fan with even more passion towards his hometown Padres. Editor-In-Chief of EastVillageTimes.com. Always striving to bring you the highest quality in San Diego Sports News. Original content, with original ideas, that’s our motto. Enjoy.
Possible the Padres will try to draft higher upside players later in the draft in hopes of signing them as HS players, and also develop them for the future…..The Padres drafted Brendan McKay LHP/OF from Louisville in the 34th round in 2014 and where a couple of hundred thousand dollars away from signing him….what could have been….NO that was not an AJ Preller run draft, but it would have been a nice bonus, Preller did not become Padres GM until August 2014.
Is Nick Allen unsignable at this point? We are going to have to trust Preller and Co., but back to back catchers when a top 30 ranked SS from their own backyard is still sitting there? With Hedges seemingly finding his way at the Major League level, is using 2 of their top 3 picks on catchers prudent? I certainly hope they are working the phone lines tonight to get one of the higher ranked guys left on the board to “agree to sign” so they can draft them with the 78th pick.