Milwaukee Brewers Sign UDFA Infielder Noah Campbell from S.C.

It was recently reported that the Milwaukee Brewers have made another UDFA addition. This time it is infielder, Noah Campbell, from South Carolina.

Since the 2020 MLB Draft has ended, the Milwaukee Brewers had signed a handful of undrafted free agents. This group includes T.J. Shook, Drew Smith, Jason Munsch, Brandon Knarr, Evan Reifert, and, most recently, infielder Noah Campbell from South Carolina.

Signing undrafted free agents has been a more difficult task this offseason, considering that players can only be signed to a maximum amount of $20,000. Which, of course, is considerably lower than the usual maximum of $125,000 that UDFA’s can earn.

This, however, didn’t change Campbell’s mind as he is foregoing his senior season at South Carolina for an opportunity to join the Brewers.

Campbell is a familiar player to many in the Milwaukee Brewers’ scouting department as he was their selection in the 19th round of the 2017 MLB Draft coming out of high school. Instead, he chose to attend USC, where he saw playing time immediately and was referred to by manager Mark Kingston as: “the kind of player you build your program around.”

That 2018 season, Campbell would slash .270/.372/.380 with three home runs and seven stolen bases. Unfortunately, in 2019 he took a step back with a .239 average and an OPS of only .702. On top of that, he struck out 47 times and drew just 18 walks.

Since then, both Campbell and Kingston have acknowledged that swinging for the fences was a big contributor to his struggles at the plate that season. Then through 14 games during this shortened 2020 season, Campbell was bouncing back, slashing .256/.370/.410 with a home run and eight stolen bases.

However, where Campbell has really made some noise and flashed his potential was during his two summers in the Cape Cod League, which is well recognized as the top summer league in the country.

During 2018, over his 125 plate appearances, Campbell would hit a scorching .364 with a 1.092 OPS, along with six home runs and seven stolen bases. This earned Campbell All-Star honors, and he would follow this performance up with another excellent showing in 2019.

Once again, Campbell was named to the league’s All-Star team after he slashed .324/.442/.431 with three home runs and six stolen bases, according to Baseball-Reference.

Coming into the 2020 draft, Campbell was ranked as Baseball America’s 328th prospect on their top-500 list. He, along with Drew Smith, are the only two Milwaukee UDFA’s to make Baseball America’s top-500 rankings.

For a closer look at what Campbell brings to the Milwaukee Brewers’ organization, here is what Prospects Live had to say about his game:

"“A dynamic all-around talent, Campbell impresses at the plate with easy bat speed, and lightning quick hands. His frame is average in size (6’0 ft, 195 lbs listed), with the ability to add good weight. Campbell is a switch-hitter with a some what unorthodox swing geared toward getting the most of his raw power.I’d put the power at a 55 raw at the moment, with the ability to get to it in games, including homers in back to back looks in mid-July. He’s a plus runner, but hard contact, and not his speed is the driving force behind the profile.He will chase however, and I wonder how he’ll look against upper-level spin. My enthusiasm out-weighs my fears. he’s just okay at shortstop, giving me the vibe of a future second baseman in the pro-game.”"

It’s certainly been an unusual offseason, but the Brewers continue to add high-quality prospects to the organization. Like several of the players either drafted or signed before him, Campbell is an up the middle defender, with plenty of college experience – 390 career at-bats – and he also had quite a bit of success during his summers in the Cape Cod League.

As the Brewers continue to make these UDFA signings, be sure to check back in with Dairyland Express for those updates as we continue to track these moves.