2024 draftee Ryan Campos 'getting comfortable' after first pro spring with Cardinals

The following is an exclusive interview by Redbird Rants with St. Louis Cardinals catching prospect Ryan Campos

2024 draftee Ryan Campos 'getting comfortable' after first pro spring with Cardinals

The Cardinals had a luxury year in and year out at the major league level to always have that consistent presence at the catcher position for almost two decades with Yadier Molina.
Having one of the best catchers in the league gave the club almost no reason to truly invest draft resources or money spent during free agency in the position.

Then comes the 2022 season, when the clock finally started the post-Molina era. Since then, St. Louis has inserted quite a few notable backstops to their minor league system. They now have four catchers ranked inside the team’s top 30 prospects, according to MLB.com.

Ryan Campos was selected in the fourth round of the 2024 MLB Draft by the Cardinals last summer out of Arizona State. He was a two-time Buster Posey National Collegiate Catcher of the Year Award semifinalist in college. The Cardinals signed him for exact slot at $669,300 and assigned him to the Florida State League for Low-A Palm Beach, where he slashed .319/.396/.407 over 26 games to end the 2024 season.

“My first professional offseason was good,” Campos told Redbird Rants. “I really was taking time to focus on all aspects of my game and to clean up some mechanics in the batter's box. I was working to get comfortable with the one knee down behind the plate. My first Spring Training was also awesome. It was fun to work around guys that I can learn from and also try out the things I was working on in the offseason against some good players.”

The 22-year-old had almost no experience with the knee-down setup behind the plate, which is a technique we see almost all major league teams employ. It is widely understood that the reason for catchers to do this is that it helps the catchers get lower and to improve framing. In fact, every single starting catcher who started on Opening Day in the majors worked out of a knee-down setup.

Getting acquainted to the pro ball lifestyle is no easy task, especially for a catcher. Learning a brand new pitching staff, trying to hit off more advanced pitching, and working on new techniques behind the dish are all challenging tasks for a young catcher.

“I think the normal day-to-day stuff that comes with playing six times a week has been the most noticeable thing for me,” Campos said of adjusting to pro ball. “Definitely more of an emphasis on the recovery side of the game along with the mental side. But I have been having a blast playing all the time.”

The 2025 season officially marks the first full pro season for Campos. He has started the year in High-A Peoria, and if all things go well this season, he will be knocking on the door of Double-A Springfield towards the end of 2025. Sometimes, though, it’s hard not to want to look forward to the next level or even eventually the major leagues one day. It sounds like the young catcher is staying as grounded as he possibly can.

“I am just trying to be where my feet are,” Campos said of being in High-A. “I am working to be better every day. I am so blessed to be in such a great organization like the St. Louis Cardinals and to have the opportunity to help the us add a few more world championships. That is certainly my main goal.”

Campos has appeared in 11 games for Peoria this season and is carrying an .810 OPS along with one home run, four RBIs, and 11 walks.