Justin
Campbell

2022 MLB Draft: Loose and long-levered at 6-foot-7, 215-pounds, the right-hander gets downhill from a high three-quarter arm slot. He works quickly and aggressively with an athletic, repeatable delivery and average deception. Before pitching in the 92-95 range early in the season with his higher-spin fastball (2300-2500 rpm), Campbell sat more 90-93 in the second half. He shows a remarkable ability to pull the string on his 78-80 mph changeup, and throws it with conviction to righties and lefties alike. He can also overwhelm hitters with a variety of plus breakers and spot-on fastball command. Although his top out pitch is normally a 82-83 mph turbo changeup with late fade and drop, his big downer curveball locks in at mostly 76-78 mph. It has ample depth and teeth to its bite. He uses it effectively to steal a strike early in counts, as well as changing the shape for swing/miss putaway. As a fourth offering, Campbell mixes in a 83-85 slider. It grades out lower than his other secondaries and is more of a ground ball inducer, although he has shown the ability to lock up left handed batters with ones to their back foot. A high pitchability right-hander, he is a more complete package than Will Bednar (Mississippi State) who went 14th overall last July. Campbell received plenty of first round buzz early in the season and should go inside the top 30 overall picks although a shoulder surgery as a prep may limit his value to some clubs. Campbell posted a 3.82 ERA with 141 strikeouts vs 25 walks in 101.1 innings this spring.

Campbell was outstanding on the mound, holding the Mountaineers scoreless over seven innings while surrendering just a walk and six hits to go with eight punchouts. Tall, projectable and long-levered at 6-foot-7, 219-pounds, the right-hander gets downhill from a high three-quarter arm slot. He was 90-93 mph with his fastball on Friday, touching 94 mph a couple times and holding the velocity for the duration of his start. He showed a remarkable ability to pull the string on his 78-80 mph changeup, and he threw it with conviction to righties and lefties alike. The junior used his mid-70s curveball as a strike stealer early in the count, and also commanded a slider to round out the arsenal. Campbell's 81 strikeouts this season lead the Big 12, and he's struck out at least eight in all but one of his starts this season.

Coming into Week Three, Campbell was receiving first round buzz and he did nothing to lessen that hype. Long, loose and athletic at 6-foot-7, 215 pounds, Campbell still has projection remaining, but he also showed some of the highest pitchability I've seen so far this spring. He and Hunter Barco are my leaders in the clubhouse as to how the top college starting pitchers currently stack up, especially after Landon Sims left his start in the middle of the fourth inning on Friday and Carson Whisenhunt and Blade Tidwell have yet to pitch this spring. Campbell works quick and aggressively with an athletic, repeatable delivery. It was a bit more compact than his delivery last summer for the USA CNT and very effective. From a high three-quarter slot with average deception, Campbell pitched to both sides of the plate at 91-94 mph (touched 96) with a high spin (2300-2400 rpm) heater and carried 92-95 into the fifth with even higher spin (consistent 2500s). The Zags lineup is not loaded with sluggers like LSU, but it is stacked with talented grinders who take consistent good passes. Outside of one pitch, a first inning solo shot off the bat of Zag's DH Stephen Lund, Campbell overwhelmed with a variety of plus breakers and spot-on fastball command. Although his top out pitch is normally a 82-83 mph turbo changeup with late fade and drop, his big downer curveball was locked in at mostly 76-78 mph with one big nasty at 81 mph for a KO. It has ample depth and teeth to its bite. He uses it effectively to steal a strike early in counts, as well as changing the shape for swing/miss putaway with two Ks. As a fourth offering, Campbell mixes in a 83-85 slider. It grades out lower than his other secondaries and is more of a ground ball inducer, although he did lock up a left handed batter with one to the back foot for a check swing strikeout. With continued good health and high level performance, he is a no doubt first round talent this July. For me he is a more complete package than Will Bednar (Mississippi State) who went 14th overall last July.

One of the most accomplished pitchers in college baseball, Campbell earned All-America honors after going 7-2, 2.57 with 102 strikeouts against 27 walks in 84 innings last year. He looked the part of a top-two-rounds prospect last summer with Team USA, but he generated serious first-round buzz leading into this spring. But Campbell's lower back tightened up on him on the flight to Nashville for opening weekend, and the Cowboys weren't sure he would be able to start on a cold Friday evening at Vanderbilt. He wound up starting as scheduled, and he showed good stuff but not his best. Long, loose and athletic at 6-foot-7, 219 pounds, Campbell still has projection remaining, but he also offers adequate present velocity; he pitched at 92-94 mph in a breezy 1-2-3 first inning Friday, then sat 89-93 for the next three innings, with above-average to plus spin rate in the 2300-2587 rpm range. He repeats his slingy high three-quarters arm action well, but on this night, OSU pitching coach Rob Walton speculated that his back tightness might have caused him to stay more upright than usual, which caused him to miss to his arm side more than usual (he uncorked a couple of costly wild pitches on fastballs that missed to that side in the third inning). His best out pitch is normally his turbo changeup — a rare high-spin change like former Duke first-rounder Bryce Jarvis featured — but he lacked his best feel for it on this cold night. His big downer curveball is not a hammer at 73-76 mph, but it does have plenty of depth, and he uses it effectively to steal a strike early in counts. He also can backdoor it to lefties, which he did to freeze at least one Vandy hitter for a called strikeout. Even on a day Campbell wasn't his best, there was plenty to like. As he gets stronger and the weather warms up, expect his stock to continue to climb. (Fitt)

Lanky, athletic right-hander with a loose arm and a 89-93 fastball with spin rates into the 2400s. His 77-79 mph curve showed quality spin (2450 rpm), but lacked bite to its finish. It’s early break and long shape made it play below average on this look. He showed fastball arm speed on a 77-80 mph change which graded near average. Campbell also flashed a 82-83 mph slider with spin into the 2600s.

Stands 6-foot-7, 215-pounds. The right-hander works from a high slot with his fastball coming in at 89-91 in his first inning of work. Throws a deep breaking 12/6 curveball at 75-77 mph. Mixed in a 78 mph changeup.

Campbell appears to be fully healthy after suffering a labrum injury last season that caused him to miss the entire season on the mound. This is my second viewing in five weeks and he's already showing positive gains. His fastball was steady at 88-91 and shows some late life as it enters the zone while his changeup has fading action away from lefties at 78 mph. Campbell's curveball is tight with late break at 71-72 as it appears he's just playing catch with it. The delivery is clean, easy and repeatable. Currently uncommitted, Campbell is one of the most sought after recruits in the state.

Campbell was one of the top prospects before a labrum injury sidelined all of his junior season. He came back with a vengeance this summer. The two-way standout has shown that his bat is for real with some natural power to the pull side. He gets and keeps the barrel in the hitting zone for a long time while consistently squaring balls up from a middle/pull approach. Has enough present strength to muscle balls in on the hands. On the mound the arm is loose, free, and easy. He shows a clean and repeatable delivery and is back to where he was pre-injury velocity-wise.