Padres pregame: Luis Campusano, Freddy Fermin leading catching revival

Believe it or not, the Padres have two catchers – two – going well.

The most potent of the pair is behind the plate to start a three-game series against the Mets at Citi Field in New York. First pitch is at 4:10 p.m. on Padres.TV.

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Luis Campusano’s .925 OPS is tops among all catchers with at least 140 plate appearances, as is his .313 batting average and a .409 on-base percentage.

Only the Rockies’ Hunter Goodman (.541) is slugging better than Campusano (.516) and his 460 plate appearances as added up to 34 homers. Campusano, meanwhile, has only five homers after missing a chunk of time to a broken toe and an oblique issue that popped up while on his rehab assignment.

The Padres’ other catcher, Freddie Fermin, is hitting a discouraging .193/.268/.310 on the season but has returned from his most recent trip to the injured list for a head contusion to hit .306/.320/.429 over 51 plate appearances.

Since Fermin’s return on July 17, Padres catchers rank eighth in WAR (1.0) and sixth in in weighted runs created-plus (133).

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Campusano will bat sixth on Monday, between center fielder Jackson Merrill (.711 OPS) and designated hitter Gavin Sheets (.708 OPS).

Luis Rengifo (.652 OPS) will bat ninth and play left field.

Here is how the Mets (56-69) will line up to start this three-game series:

Monday’s pitching matchup

Padres RHP Walker Buehler (7-5, 4.88 ERA)

The 32-year-old is coming off his fourth quality start (6 IP, 1 ER). He has a 3.20 ERA over his last five starts, all wins for the Padres. Buehler has a 4.60 ERA over six career starts against the Mets, the last in 2025 (2⅓ IP, 0 ER).

Here is how Buehler has fared against current Mets:

Mets RHP Nolan McLean (8-8, 3.42 ERA)

The 25-year-old rookie has completed at least six innings in 10 straight starts (2.69 ERA). He also limited the Padres to a run on three hits and three walks in six innings in a no-decision at Petco Park in June. Lefties (.712 OPS) have tallied 11 of the 15 homers he’s allowed. Righties have a .530 OPS off McLean.

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Here is how McLean has fared against current Mets:

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This story was originally published August 17, 2026 at 3:09 PM.