Eric Campbell (baseball) - Eric Campbell

Eric Campbell (born August 6, 1985 in Owensville, Indiana) is a minor league baseball third baseman. Listed at 6-feet and 205 pounds, Campbell bats and throws right-handed.

Entering 2007, he was rated by Baseball America as the No. 6 prospect in the Braves organization.

Campbell set school career records in hits, home runs, average, stolen bases, runs, walks and at bats while at Gibson Southern High School. He was named to Baseball America's Preseason All-America team. He earned All-Conference honors three times and captured the New Haven Register All-State honors twice. He was selected to All-Northeast Region first-team and served as team captain during his senior season. Campbell also played basketball for four seasons.

He did not play college baseball, but was drafted by the Braves out of high school.

In 2004 he was named by the Braves organization as the Gulf Coast League June Player of the Month when he led the team in home runs, with three, and was second in RBIs, with six.

He was named Most Valuable Player of the Year in 2005 for the Danville Braves and shared Appalachian League Co-Player of the Year honors with teammate Max Ramirez. He was also named Topps' Minor League Baseball Co-Player of the Year for the Appalachian League and voted to the 12-player Topps' Class A-Short Season/Rookie League All-Star team. He was honored by the Braves organization as the July Co-Player of the Month for the D-Braves. His 1.017 OPS was tops among Braves Minor Leaguers, while his .313 average was fourth best. Campbell dominated the Appy League in power statistics, leading with 26 doubles, 18 home runs, 64 RBIs, 77 runs scored and a .634 slugging percentage. His doubles, home runs, RBIs and runs scored all set Danville records.

Campbell played his first full season with the Class-A Rome Braves as a third baseman in 2006. He overcame a midseason back injury to lead the South Atlantic League with 22 home runs, second most among Braves Minor Leaguers, and rank fifth in both slugging percentage and extra-base hits. His 22 homers and 77 RBIs set single-season Rome records, while he led the Rome squad in average, hits, doubles and runs scored. He was named the Rome Braves MVP by Braves organization. He played for the Honolulu Sharks of the Hawaiian Winter League.

In 2007 he saw his offensive numbers slip slightly in his fourth professional campaign, batting .221 with 14 home runs and 49 RBIs in 81 games for the Class-A Advanced Myrtle Beach Pelicans. He missed one month with a left thumb injury and one week with left shoulder soreness. Over a span of six games from June 17 to 25, he saw his average jump from .198 to .250 as he went 15-for-30 and also drove in nine runs.

He batted .255 in second full season at Class-A Advanced Myrtle Beach. His 19 home runs were fourth most in the Southern League and tied for fifth most among Braves Minor Leaguers. He ranked seventh in the organization with an .840 OPS. He hit .279 against left-handed pitchers and .246 against righties. He hit .242 with two doubles and two RBIs in nine games for Mayos de Navojoa of the Mexican Pacific League.

Campbell was released by the Braves on August 18, 2009. The front office indicated it "there were no extenuating circumstances or other factors. It was just a normal player release."

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference (Minors)