Padres’ surprise breakout star behind hot start to 2026 season

Story by

Chris Spiering, ClutchPoints

Wed, April 29, 2026 at 4:46 PM UTC ·

4 min read

Padres’ surprise breakout star behind hot start to 2026 season appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

The San Diego Padres are one of the best teams in Major League Baseball to begin the 2026 season. At 19-10, the Friars are 1.5 games back of the Atlanta Braves for the top record in the league. SD is currently tied with the Cincinnati Reds and 0.5 games back of the Los Angeles Dodgers and New York Yankees . So far in 2026, the National League has gotten off to a much better start compared to the AL. Nine of the top 11 records come from the NL.

The Padres have only lost two series all year, and those came in the first two series of the campaign. Since then, SD has won every series except for a 1-1 split with the Arizona Diamondbacks in Mexico City. The Padres and Chicago Cubs will meet for the rubber match of their 3-game series on Wednesday, so San Diego is on the verge of losing their first series of the month. A win and they will go the entire month of April without a series loss.

A major reason why the Padres have seen so much success early on this year is due to the sudden hitting of catcher Luis Campusano . Campuano entered the season as the backup catcher on a very short leash. Many Padres fans were tired of waiting for him to catch fire, and right when things may have begun to rattle, Campusano flipped the switch.

The 27-year-old catcher is emerging as a starter for the Padres over Freddy Fermin . “Campy” has a much better bat on his shoulders and is quickly improving his defense as well. The Padres certainly prefer Fermin behind the plate; however, Campusano is forcing their hand.

Campusano is one of the Padres’ best hitters right now. Fernando Tatis Jr. , Jackson Merrill , and Manny Machado are all struggling big time. San Diego has managed to play so well without them doing much damage. Instead, it’s been Campusano, Ramon Laureano , Xander Bogaerts , Gavin Sheets , and Ty France . That offensive core is why SD has 19 wins in 29 games.

In 15 games this season, Campusano has 15 hits in 44 at-bats, adding seven doubles, three home runs, 10 RBIs, three walks, and only 11 strikeouts. He owns a .341 batting average, 1.088 OPS, and already owns a 0.8 WAR. Not only are the numbers elite, but Campy has been very clutch all season long. Even in the loss on Tuesday night to the Cubs, Campusano drove home an RBI while down two runs to cut the deficit to one. It did not end up mattering, but Campy showing up in big moments is something nobody expected in 2026.

Does anyone have a pen for the apology letter? Because most Padres fans would sign it immediately. Campusano has emerged as an offensive star for the Padres this season, and if he continues to hit at the rate he is, then he may end up with some of the best numbers by any catcher in 2026.

Manager Craig Stammen will not be with the Padres on Wednesday as he attends a funeral. Stammen deserves a lot of credit for being a first-year manager. He’s doing a great job navigating the team through a ton of serious injuries to star players ( Nick Pivetta , Joe Musgrove , Yu Darvish , Griffin Canning ). The Padres’ best three players haven’t really shown up yet, yet the Friars are still one of the league’s best teams. A win on Wednesday would showcase another strong series win.

First pitch between the Cubs and Padres is at 4:10 ET at Petco Park. Jameson Taillon toes the slab for the Cubbies while Matt Waldron starts for the Friars.