Baseball: Justin Campbell is Simi Valley’s giant pitcher preparing to be unleashed

The first thing you notice about 15-year-old freshman Justin Campbell of Simi Valley is that he makes everyone standing around him look small. Infielders come up to his shoulders. And if he’s standing on the mound, he looks like the 6-foot-7 giant he truly is.

As a pitcher, Campbell is a work in progress. Simi Valley coaches decided to let him mature mostly playing on junior varsity, a rarity in these days where parents and kids demand to play on varsity.

But it’s all working out. Campbell made his final ever appearance on JVs on Monday. From now on and starting with the playoffs, he’s a varsity player. And beware.

He went 5-0 with a 1.14 ERA on JVs, including 37 strikeouts in 31 innings. In 13 varsity innings this season, he has two wins, nine strikeouts and allowed one earned run.

As he fills into his body, Campbell figures to keep getting stronger and better. He’s definitely a pitcher to watch for the next three seasons. And he’ll come in handy if Simi Valley needs pitching help in the Division 2 playoffs.

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