Padres Catcher Luis Campusano Talks About His Relationship with Austin Nola

He has a key mentor heading into the season.

The Padres have been patient with their young catcher Luis Campano as he has tried to prove he deserves a role in the Major League. He is in quite the interesting spot right now seeing that he performed extremely well in AAA but couldn't exactly translate his talent when called up to San Diego's squad.

However, heading into the 2023 season, Campusano finds himself as the sole catcher on the Padres besides 33-year-old Austin Nola. Nola solidified himself as the number one option for that role but team manager Bob Melvin has expressed he would like to see Campusano get more legit games under his belt in San Diego.

The 24-year-old has been able to study and develop a stronger bond with Nola over the offseason and study what has made him succeed in the system. In an interview with Kevin Acee, The San Diego Union-Tribune, Campusano touched on his friendship with his mentor.

“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.”

Nola has been apart of the Friars franchise since 2020 and initially struggled to produce due to injuries. He has lost hitting power as the years go on and it's clear the team is looking for the torch to be passed on to Campusano.

Campusano was drafted in 2017 and has seen the roster change multiple times. This year especially brings in a big name in Xander Boegarts and a warm welcome-back for Fernando Tatis Jr. He also talked about the importance of communication for him this year.

Luis Campusano on the steps forward he’s taken on the catching side of his game: pic.twitter.com/4Ahz1Qjl65

— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) February 16, 2023

"I think the communication part with our pitchers is important, a lot of new faces we've had in the past few years," said Campusano. "That reset makes you want to understand what's going on with our guys personally and on the field."