Cleveland Guardians Draft RHP Justin Campbell With 37th Overall Pick

Campbell is a massive presence on the mound that Cleveland thinks can have a huge big league career.

The Cleveland Guardians have picked their first pitching prospect of the 2022 MLB First Year Player Draft.

With the 37th overall pick (Competitive Balance Round A), Cleveland selected Oklahoma State Cowboys big right-handed pitcher Justin Campbell.

Justin Campbell is a Cleveland Guardian! #ForTheLand pic.twitter.com/Xy3OsrPN7M

— Cleveland Guardians On SI (@GuardiansOnSI) July 18, 2022

Campbell checks in at 6-foot-7, 200 pounds and has a huge presence in the middle of the diamond. He pitched 101.1 innings this season for OSU, recording 141 strikeouts and walking just 25. He finished the year with a 3.82 ERA. He was a second team All-American each of the last two years. As the ace of the Cowboys staff, Campbell went 17-6 during his collegiate career with a 3.37 ERA and competed as a 2-way player. His 141 K's this year were 7th most among NCAA pitchers. He also threw a no-hitter against Kansas in 2021.

Here's what MLB.com has to say about Campbell:

An 18th-round pick by the Astros out of a California high school in 2019, Campbell opted instead to attend Oklahoma State and pull double duty as a pitcher and DH. He immediately won a spot in the weekend rotation in 2020 and was a finalist for the John Olerud Award as NCAA Division I's best two-way talent in 2021, when he threw a 99-pitch no-hitter against Kansas.

More of an on-base guy than a slugger at the plate, he focused solely on pitching this season and could fit toward the end of the first round after finishing seventh in D-I with 141 strikeouts in 101 1/3 innings. Hitters just don't seem to see the ball well against Campbell, who has a 6-foot-7 frame and deceptive mechanics with an unusual approach angle. His fastball sits around 92 mph and touches 97, and it features high spin rates and running action that generate a lot of harmless contact.

He has a pair of solid secondary pitches that he'll use against both left-handers and right-handers: an upper-70s changeup with even more horizonal movement than his heater and a mid-70s curveball that creates a lot of empty swings and groundouts. Campbell also fiddles with a low-80s slider but primarily operates with three pitches.

Extremely athletic for his size, he provides plenty of strikes and can win on days that he lacks his best stuff. He's a high-floor starter with a good probability of filling a No. 4 slot in a rotation.

Campbell joins former James Madison outfielder Chase DeLauter as draftees for the Guardians this evening. DeLauter was the 16th overall selection.

The Guardians have eight prospects inside the top 100 in the minor leagues, which is the most of any franchise right now in baseball. I'm sure the Guardians anticipate that Campbell will add to their stable of top-end talent.

Stay tuned to our YouTube channel for coverage, as the Guardians Director of Amateur Scouting Scott Barnsby will be available to the media after each of the three days of the draft conclude. He's expected to meet with reporters at approximately 12:15 AM Eastern Time tonight.

The Guardians are scheduled to make one more selection Sunday night (No. 54 overall in the second round).

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