Torrens, Campusano in minors could soon challenge Hedges/Mejía as Padres catchers
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Torrens, Campusano in minors could soon challenge Hedges/Mejía as Padres catchers

Austin Hedges

Were the Padres able to combine the skills of Austin Hedges and Francisco Mejía, they’d have quite a catcher.

Hedges is one of the game’s top handlers of pitchers and a plus defender. But the 27-year-old hit only .176 last season and his career batting average is one point above the Mendoza line. He has some pop but has reached base only about a quarter of his Major League plate appearances.

The switch-hitting Mejía, 24, can hit. But his defensive skills are not up to Hedges’ very high level.

However, the Padres do have a catcher coming through the system who might have all the needed skills. That is Luis Campusano, who was the Most Valuable Player of the Advanced Single-A California League last season as a 20-year-old.

The Padres have three other catching prospects on their organizational depth chart in Luis Torrens, Blake Hunt and Logan Driscoll.

A look at the Padres’ catching depth chart:

Austin Hedges — There are no questions regarding Hedges’ defense. The former second-round draft pick (2011) has All-Star-caliber skills behind the plate. But his offense has not developed as hoped and last season his slash line was .176/.252/.360/.617 with 109 strikeouts in 312 at-bats. Even his production numbers (nine doubles, 11 homers, 36 RBIs) slipped from his 2018 line. He does have 46 homers over the past three seasons. The Padres need more offense from the catching spot than Hedges has supplied thus far after showing promise at Triple-A.

Francisco Mejía –The Padres like Mejía’s bat and have experimented with him playing in the outfield as a way to get him in the lineup. But his future is at catcher. In 99 games spread over one-plus seasons as a Padre, Mejía has hit .250 with a .730 OPS and 11 homers and 30 RBIs in 302 plate appearances. The Padres acquired Mejía from Cleveland on July 19, 2018 for pitchers Adam Cimber and Brad Hand.,

Francisco Mejía

Luis Torrens — The 23-year-old Venezuelan joined the Padres in 2016 through the Rule 5 draft. After losing valuable development time while having to spend the 2017 season with the Padres (he hit .163 in 56 games), Torrens made great strides the past two years with Advanced Single-A Lake Elsinore (.280 with a .727 OPS) and this past season with Double-A Amarillo, where he helped the Sod Poodles win the Texas League title before returning to the Padres for a September cameo (3-for-16). The Padres praised Torrens’ all-around improvement during the 2019 season. He hit .300 for Amarillo with a .373 on-base percentage and a .500 slugging percentage for a .873 OPS. He had 23 doubles, a triple, 15 homers and 62 RBIs in 97 games with 42 walks against only 67 strikeouts.

Luis Campusano — He is ranked the Padres’ fifth-best prospect and is №86 in all the minor leagues. The Padres’ second-round pick in the 2017 draft (39th overall) as a Georgia high schooler, Campusano hit .325 with Lake Elsinore in 2019 with a .396 on-base percentage and a .509 slugging percentage for a .906 OPS. The California League MVP had 31 doubles and 15 homers and 81 RBIs in 110 games. Also grades high in the defensive analytics. Another key stat — Campusano drew 52 walks last year while striking out only 57 times.

Blake Hunt — The 6-foot-3 Hunt was the 69th overall in the 2017 draft out of Mater Dei High in Orange County. He is running a level behind Campusano as he climbs through the Padres’ minor league system. Hunt had a .255/.331/.381/.712 slash line last season with Single-A Fort Wayne. He had 21 doubles, three triples, five homers and 39 RBIs in 89 games.

Logan Driscoll — The 6-foot-1, 22-year-old, left-handed hitter was the 73rd overall pick in the 2019 draft out of George Mason University. Driscoll skipped rookie ball in Arizona and reported directly to the Padres’ short-season Single-A team in Tri-City, Washington. He had a .268/.340/.458/.797 slash line with 14 doubles, two triples and three home runs for 20 RBIs in 39 games. He also had a strong post-season.