MLB Draft 2017: Padres select high school C Luis Campusano-Bracero with 39th overall pick

The Padres selected perhaps the top catcher in the draft with 2nd round pick Luis Campusano-Bracero. Baseball America had him ranked as their top catcher in the draft and I imagine others did as well. Campusano-Bracero played his high school ball at Cross Creek HS, GA. Along with 1st round pick MacKenzie Gore, the top 2 Padres picks both hail from the southeastern United States.

Also like Gore, Campusano-Bracero was at Petco last August for the Perfect Game All American Classic. I noted that that he went the opposite way off of future 1st round pick Trevor Rogers with 2 strikes on him. Super duper small sample but that sounds like a nice approach! The word on the young backstop is that since his Petco debut last summer he worked hard on his physique, which is very important for a catcher. And he’s 100% a catching prospect. He’s got the arm for it, which I’ve seen called a 60 grade. With the bat he’s shown the ability to have some power, perhaps similar to Austin Hedges in that regard.

Speaking of Mr. Hedges, don’t worry about having the Padres catcher of the future already on the roster and then selecting another. These things sort themselves out. Not to mention that Campusano-Bracero is only a teenager at the moment and will take some time to develop.