Cleveland Guardians Top 30 Prospects: #11 Justin Campbell

Baseball is officially back! Meaningful news is starting to hit feeds everywhere, videos of players taking live reps abound on Twitter and live games begin on Friday. There's plenty of intrigue up and down the list of 58 players attending Spring Training for the Guardians, so naturally, it's time to talk about a player who isn't at Spring Training. It's been a long offseason, I still have my patented knack for timing.It is fitting, however, that the college baseball season started within the week. Some heavyweight matchups and projected high picks in this year's draft are already making an impact. Not to mention the first no-hitter of the season has been thrown already. It was a combined effort by the Oklahoma State pitching staff, but it's relevant to us because the last Cowboy to throw a no-no is now a Cleveland Guardian.Right-handed pitcher Justin Campbell is my 11th-ranked Guardians prospect selected by Cleveland in the first round of the 2022 MLB draft. Campbell, 22, was a three-year starter at Oklahoma State, cracking the rotation as a freshman before COVID ultimately ended his first collegiate season early. While not being a very decorated college arm Campbell made up for it with some fairly gaudy counting stats, and a no-hitter against Kansas as a sophomore, the last by the Cowboys before Tuesday night.[embed]https://twitter.com/CollegeBSBHub/status/1391143483646242816?s=20[/embed]Campbell ended his time at Oklahoma State by appearing in 17 games for the Cowboys (16 starts) in 2022. He compiled a 9-2 record over 101.1 innings pitched to go with a 3.82 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 25 walks (6.2%) to 141 strikeouts (34.7%). He had some issues with the long ball in 2022, surrendering 15 home runs in those 17 games, but allowed just 20 total homers in his three seasons.Over the course of his collegiate career, Campbell tallied a 17-6 record in 35 games (33 starts) that spanned 205.2 innings with an ERA of 3.37, a 1.10 WHIP, and 58 walks (6.9%) to 265 strikeouts (31.6%). In 2021 Campbell became just the 15th pitcher in Cowboys' program history to eclipse 100 strikeouts in a season when he logged 102 as a sophomore, then did it again with 142 as a junior. The command and impressive strikeout numbers set Campbell apart on paper, but there's much more to him than just his college numbers.Campbell is an imposing 6 foot 7 and weighs 219 pounds. The height is especially daunting when he's on the mound, and then you have to worry about his stuff. Despite his size, Campbell has good control of his body and manages to consistently repeat his delivery. He has a four-pitch arsenal that includes a fastball that sits 91-95 and can reach 97, a curveball that sits in the upper-70s, a low-to-mid 80s slider and a low 80s changeup. With Campbell's height and extension, the fastball plays exceptionally well up in the zone with plenty of ride but is still susceptible to being hammered if he misses over the plate.[embed]https://twitter.com/colton_lovelac/status/1506000936447221774?s=20[/embed]The curveball and changeup are equally good weapons with high spin that can have the bottom fall out easily on hitters. The curve has flashed as a plus offering with deep 12-6 shape and drop, and the changeup already plays well off the fastball. The slider needs some work, but in an organization like Cleveland's that has been teaching everyone and their sister a cutter/slider hybrid pitch there shouldn't be much concern that Campbell could develop it further.Campbell already had a high floor coming out of college before the Guardians got their hands on him. Cleveland has a reputation for making good pitchers great, and great ones elite. It's too soon to say Campbell is in the "great" tier entering pro ball, but he already has a lot of positives going for him before his first full season with the player development staff. Refining his mechanics, maybe adding a tick of velocity, and establishing the slider as a consistent offering may be a simpler process due to the foundation already in place.Much like the 2021 draft class of pitchers, I expect Campbell to progress through the system quickly from his likely starting point in Low-A Lynchburg. The area of concern will be hoping the long ball issues from 2022 don't come with him to affiliate ball and the BB/K ratio carrying over from college. No, I don't expect him to strike out nearly 35% of batters he faces, but he has the tools to still rack them up and not walk too many. Campbell's name may very well end up in the discussion of Cleveland's top pitching prospects by the end of the season, but for now, I'll be excited to see him get started. The List so Far:12. Jose Tena13. Xzavion Curry14. Gabriel Arias15. Jaison Chourio16. Will Brennan17. Joey Cantillo18. Juan Brito19. Nate Furman20. Petey Halpin21. Parker Messick22. Doug Nikhazy23. Tanner Burns24. Joe Lampe25. Isaiah Greene26. Jake Fox27. Jhonkensy Noel28. Jack Leftwich29. Trenton Denholm30. Peyton Battenfield