Saturday Prospect Spotlight: Mariners RHP Isaiah Campbell

The Mariners have an incredible amount of high-ceiling pitchers in their farm system. When someone talks about their system, the names Kirby, Hancock, Brash, Willamson are just some of the names that you would think of. Not that long ago, Isaiah Campbell would’ve been right up there with them.

After a decent 2018 in college, Campbell was selected in the 24th round. He decided to give it another shot in college, and it proved to be the right decision. He would throw 118.1 innings across 18 starts, striking out 125 with an ERA of just 2.13.

That would be enough for the Mariners to select him in the second round of the 2019 draft. Heading into 2021, Campbell was pushing his way to the Mariners top ten prospect rankings. Through 2021 though, we’ve only seen 19 innings in Pro ball from Campbell. So what do we know about him?

Getting to know Mariners RHP Isaiah Campbell

Well, he’s got a nice fastball, that sits in the low-mid 90’s, but can get up to 98. He pairs it with a mid-80s slider, and they grade out at 60 and 55, respectively. It’s a nice combo, and he plays it off with a curve and a splitter, which is a new addition to his repertoire.

If you’re wondering why he hasn’t thrown much, there actually isn’t a ton of worry about it. He threw a lot his final year in college, just over 6-1/2 innings per outing. The Mariners shut him down after drafting him in large part to preserve his arm for the season.

Then, this season, he would have elbow surgery. “Woah, that’s not good” is what I usually hear from people whenever that gets brought up. Don’t get too worried though, as it was actually just a procedure down to clean up some bone chips from the area. If anything, him having that surgery is actually a good thing. It should lead to a clean bill of health and a very good chance to put in a full season’s load in 2022.

Just 24-years-old, Campbell has a ton of upside and potential. He is one of the biggest unknowns in the farm system though. If he can show that the elbow is healthy, he’s got tremendous upside. Good enough to be a mid-rotation guy, for sure. He gave up just 5 runs in 19 innings this year, so it was a limited sample, but he looked good while doing it.

Don’t expect to see him in the bigs til at least late 2023 or 2024. He needs to gain stamina, and show that he can last long enough to be a starter. If he does though, he’s going to climb right back into that group of top Mariners prospects. I’m really excited to see what the future brings to Isaiah Campbell with the Mariners.