2022 Draft Profile: Justin Campbell (RHP)

NAME: Justin Campbell
AGE: 20
POSITION: RHP
SCHOOL: Oklahoma State
HEIGHT:6’7″
WEIGHT: 220
B/T: L/R

Scouting Report

Justin Campbell is considered to be one of the safest college starters in the 2022 class. The word safe usually comes with a connotation that upside is lacking and while that can be true to a point in this case, the certainty of the profile acts as a floor raiser. MLB Pipeline ranks the Oklahoma State righty as the #34 overall player in this draft class. Campbell was drafted out of Simi Valley High School in California by the Houston Astros in the 18th round back in 2019 but the big hurler rightfully turned them down.

He’s been a two-way player for the Cowboys but the future will be on the mound. Hitters just don’t typically see the ball well against Campbell. He shows deceptive mechanics with an unusual approach angle from a 6’7″ frame. His fastball sits around 91 mph but he touches 96 mph. High spin rates and running action allows the pitch to generate lots of mostly unproductive contact. He also possesses two solid secondary options with an upper 70’s changeup that shows horizontal movement paired with a mid 70’s curveball that creates groundouts and bad swings.

Highlights from a complete game

Campbell is mostly a three pitch guy but he sometimes shows a low 80’s slider as well. The 21-year-old throws the curveball and changeup against both righties and lefties too. He’s also extremely athletic for someone his size. Baseball America ranks Campbell as the #27 overall player in the draft class. The publication noted that he burst onto the scene as a true freshman but his success has mostly come over the last two years. They also wrote that he is “lanky with loose athleticism” and compared him to Jim Palmer.

Keith Law of The Athletic placed Justin Campbell at #26 overall in the class and ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel ranked him #40 overall in his most recent synopsis. As a Sophomore in 2021, the right hander posted a 2.57 ERA with 102 strikeouts and 27 walks in 84 innings. He was a member of the USA Baseball Collegiate National Team last summer as well. This year during his junior campaign, he posted 141 strikeouts in 101.1 innings pitched.

Video courtesy of Prospect’s Live

Why Would The White Sox Draft Justin Campbell?

To put it as simply as possible, the Chicago White Sox really need more pitching. It’s not currently an organizational strength right now and much of that was by design. A five round class in 2020, the infusion of prep players in the draft and contending at the big league level leaving the franchise with small bonus pools recently are contributing factors to the lack of pitching in the pipeline.

The White Sox could take another prep hitter in the first round and ultimately load up on college pitching throughout but there shouldn’t be a surprise if a pitcher is selected at #26 overall in the first round. Justin Campbell could be a legitimate option for the Pale Hose in round one.

The big righty is very efficient with an effortless delivery that shows command and feel for his craft. Campbell is lauded for his competitive nature and he should move quickly through a farm system on his way to the majors. He projects as a high floor back end starter that could be more if he can unlock velocity and add more life on his fastball while making his third pitch a more consistent offering.

Mock Drafts

The dueling mock drafts every week for MLB Pipeline are an exciting wrinkle added to draft season. In the most recent edition, Jim Callis mocked Justin Campbell at #21 to the Seattle Mariners. Before that, Jonathan Mayo projected the big right hander to the Philadelphia Phillies at #17 overall. Over at Prospect’s Live, the team projected the Cowboy’s starter to the Seattle Mariners at #21 overall.

Keith Law of The Athletic recently published his second mock draft and didn’t include the Oklahoma State hurler. Carlos Collazo from Baseball America projected the big righty to the Cincinnati Reds with the #32 overall pick in their latest mock draft. Kiley McDaniel of ESPN noted that the righty has interest “all over the first round” in his recent attempt but ultimately sent him to the Oakland Athletics at #19 overall.

College Stats

2022 BIG 12 (junior season):
9-2, 17 games, 2 CG, 101.1 IP, 83 H, 45 R, 43 ER, 15 HR, 25 BB, 141 K, 4 WP, 3.82 ERA, 1.07 WHIP

2021 Big 12 (sophomore season)
7-2, 14 games, 1CG, 84 IP, 66 H, 28 R, 24 ER, 3 HR, 27 BB, 102 K, 2 WP, 2.57 ERA, 1.11 WHIP

2020 Big 12 (freshman season):
1-2, 4 games, 20.1 IP, 19 H, 10 R, 10 ER, 2 HR, 6 BB, 22 K, 2 WP, 4.43 ERA, 1.23 WHIP