PEORIA, Ariz. — Padres manager Bob Melvin made it clear before spring training started that this is Luis Campusano's time to show what he can be.
"He's gonna get a great opportunity to make some time for himself," Melvin said. "Based on how he does is gonna (determine) how much he plays during the season."
Austin Nola is the team's primary catcher, but the plan is for Campusano to be the only other catcher on the roster and to play quite a bit in 2023.
"He's put in a lot of time to be able to have an opportunity," Melvin said. "It's good to see. But once we get into games here, then we'll start evaluating him. But it's a great chance for him."
Melvin, a former big-league catcher, has complimented the strides taken by Campusano — which is not the same as being ready to declare the utmost confidence in him as a frequent catcher for a team with the championship aspirations and an outstanding pitching staff.
"I think we need to see him on a little bit more of a consistent basis to get a handle on kind of who he is as a player," Melvin said.
But if there is any position for which at least some sort of an assessment can be made without a player taking the field, it is catcher.
And for whatever improvements might be needed in Campusano's game defensively, it is the sort of things that are accomplished before , after and between games that he has arguably needed to most improve.
There are those in the Padres organization that contend 16-year-old Ethan Salas, roundly considered the top signee in this year's international signing class, is the most advanced catching prospect they have ever seen. He could be the Padres' primary catcher three years from now.
But that is a ways off. Campusano and Nola are the now, the ones who will be charged with guiding what is considered to be one of the major leagues' top pitching staffs.
Through an uneven start to his career, the belief in Campusano by A.J. Preller and his lieutenants has remained unwavering. Multiple people inside the organization have predicted a breakout year from the 24-year-old. They believed in him enough that there is hardly a fallback. Non-roster invitee Pedro Severino, who has 288 career starts, and minor-league veteran Brett Sullivan are the only other options.
"I'm trying not to put pressure on myself," Campusano said of the expectation he is at a crucial juncture in his young career. "I think about it, but I just want to have a good year."
He knew what he had to do to put himself in position to achieve that. He knew what it looked like.
For guidance, he can just watch Nola.
"How much he's in with the pitchers, how much he's invested with our pitchers, the dialogue he has with the pitchers," Campusano said. "That's important for catchers. Having him lead the way for me to kind of just get a clear picture of how I can navigate our pitchers, it's awesome. It helps me out big."
Interpersonal relationships simply do not come naturally to Campusano. Spend even a couple minutes talking with him about his French Bulldogs, Cookie and Pablo, and there is no question he is more comfortable in the company of canines than humans.
Not everyone is a people person. Campusano acknowledges it is something of a chore to get comfortable in situations and with people.
He knew that had to change at least a little.
Yes, the Padres would like more offense from their catchers. Certainly, pitch-blocking and receiving are paramount traits. The ability to throw quickly and accurately to second base will be even more crucial this season with new rules expected to promote base stealing.
But ask pitchers what makes a good catcher, and the answers are invariably about confidence and relationship and trust.
"They have one of the hardest jobs in baseball," starting pitcher Nick Martinez said. "They're the defensive coordinator. They've got to manage it. They have to know the whole scouting report. They have to know every single pitcher's strengths and weaknesses and how they're feeling that day. And then, when times are going kind of astray in the game, they've got to be able to kind of get us back on track and kind of whip us back into shape. So they have to have that quality and know when to push back and when to challenges and when to console. They're like therapists in every which way."
Listen to Nola explain why it's important to build a connection and show confidence in himself and his pitchers, and it's easy to understand why the Padres' pitchers love working with him. They know he is all about them.
"Helping them with what they need to be successful, I mean, that's my goal out there," Nola said. "Because when they're successful, we're all successful. A lot of it hinges on them. And they're in such a tough position being on that mound. They call it the island out there. It's a vulnerable spot. So however I can help them through that, I guess that would be where my confidence comes from."
Enhancement in these areas is why Campusano spent most of the offseason in San Diego working with the pitchers who live in town and those who would show up from time to time to work out.
"Just being out there with the guys, it's been a lot more comfortable for me and I'm ready to go this year," Campusano said. "See what I can prove."
And so it is that one of the most noticeable things at the Peoria Sports Complex so far in spring training is that Campusano is pretty much everywhere. Talking to almost everyone. Smiling and laughing. Engaging in conversations — starting them, even.
"A little more communication as far as in the game, inside the game," Campusano said of his main aim at improvement from last year. "Just (be) approachable, as far as just what they're asking, what they're looking for."
That comes from regular conversations, talking about baseball and approach and pitches and life.
Nola has been impressed by Campusano's effort in this area.
"Working at the things that you're not natural at, that's the hardest thing to do," Nola said. "… He's doing a good job of sticking with it. I mean, props to him."
Nola is 33 years old and has played parts of five seasons in the majors. His conversion from infielder to catcher in the minor leagues is a well-known tale. After starting 94 games last season, almost twice his previous career high, Nola could rightfully just now be called a bona fide catcher in the big leagues.
It seems as if Campusano has been around for a while, even though he's hardly been around.
He made his major league debut in 2020 and has spent parts of three seasons with the Padres, but he has just 144 days of service time.
Campusano hit a home run in the final plate appearance of his first career game, injured his wrist before the next day's game and didn't play again in 2020. He began the '21 season on the roster, had a rough go in nine starts, was sent down to Triple-A at the end of April and never returned. Between his two call-ups in 2022, he started another nine games.
In all, he has made 18 starts behind the plate and 92 appearances at the plate.
Campusano caught four of the final 10 regular season games in 2022, including two of three in the final series after the Padres had clinched their playoff spot.
Nola then caught every inning of the Padres' 12 postseason games.
That wasn't ideal. But Nola is who Melvin trusted in such crucial games. Nola is who the pitchers trusted.
Members of the front office were opposed to using Jorge Alfaro at that point, deeming him a liability with the Padres' staff's varied repertoire. And by many accounts, Campusano's confidence had taken a big hit by that point.
It seems like it is a big step from that to being entrusted to start 70-some games or more for a contender.
But here he is.
This will be Campusano's age-24 season. Of the 30 primary catchers in the majors last season, just four started at least 70 games in a single season before their age-24 campaign. Six did so in their age-24 season, six at 25, four at 26, one at 27, four at 28 and four did not do so until they were at least 30. (Jason Delay, who caught the most games for the Pirates last season, started just 57 games as a 27-year-old rookie.)
"I've been out of high school for six years," Campusano said. "It's so long, but so short. I'm just getting a feel, just starting to get comfortable."
