Castro Shows Power in Opportunity At Second Base
After Sunday's trade of Adam Frazier, the Pittsburgh Pirates had some big shoes to fill at second base. When asked about who would get the opportunity, Manager Derek Shelton said that several different players would get a shot there, with the first being Rodolfo Castro. Castro was called up immediately following the trade for his third trip to the Major League club. The first time, he went 0-1, but he followed it up with a great showing his second time around, hitting .272 with three home runs and four RBI in six games played. However, this time was different as he would be given a shot as the full-time starter at second base. It was do or die as Castro was trying to make his case to stay in the Big Leagues full-time.
After going 0-3 in his first start after the trade, Castro stepped up when the Pirates needed him the most. It was the seventh inning and the Pirates had gone 22 consecutive innings without scoring a run. They were down 7-0 to the Milwaukee Brewers and were looking for some sort of spark. Castro responded with his second multi-home run game of the season, a solo shot in the seventh and a two-run home run in the ninth, as the Pirates fell to the Brewers 7-3. Castro now has five hits in his short Big League career, and all five of them have been home runs. Power in a middle infielder is rare, but for Castro, that is the one part of his game that has transitioned well. Today, we look over Castro's first couple of Big League games and see if he has what it takes to be a consistent hitter in the Big Leagues.
Showing Big League Power
If there is one thing that Castro has shown during his short Big League career, it is that he has some serious power. In just 21 Big League At-Bats, he already has five home runs, including a 410ft. no-doubter in yesterday's loss. Power is something that Castro has shown throughout his professional career, hitting double-digit home runs in each of the last three seasons. So far in Double-A, he was hitting .300 with 11 home runs, 41 RBI, and 24 extra-base hits. The deep left field hasn't seemed to faze Castro as he has found the wall several times. However, he has to find a way to get some of those outs to fall in and start getting more than just home runs in the Big Leagues.
His main problem with this is the fact that while he has power, he also has the ability to swing and miss. In his five Minor League seasons, Castro has a career strikeout rate of 26.1%, including a 22.2% strikeout rate this season. Those numbers have followed him to the Big Leagues as in his first nine-game he has struck out 23.8% of the time. While it is not the biggest strikeout rate you will see, it is still costing him at the plate. He is making contact on pitches in the zone at an 86.7% clip and his chase contact percentage is 36.2%, which is just above league average. However, his Whiff rate is 28.8%, which is considerably higher than the league average of 24.5%. When Castro makes contact it has been hard contact, but he has to work on making more consistent contact if he wants to stick.
The good news is that he makes a lot of hard contact with a hard-hit rate of 37.4%, which is 2% over league average. More often than not if you consistently make hard contact, you are going to find the holes and get your fair share of hits. However, the one thing they teach in Little League is to hit line drives and that is something Castro doesn't really do. Again, in a very small sample size, Castro has a ground ball rate of 43.8%, a flyball rate of 43.8%, and a line-drive rate of just 6.3%. What this is telling me is that Castro is not necessarily squaring up the ball, but he is swinging either just over top of or just under the baseball. He is still working on finding the ball in the zone, but once he is able to consistently put the barrel of the bat on the ball, he could be a player to watch out for in the middle of the Pirates lineup.
Castro Relishing Opportunity
In a short stint in the Major Leagues, Rodolfo Castro has already made his presence felt by being the first player since 1901 to have each of his first five hits be home runs. However, as Derek Shelton said last night, it is obvious that that can not continue, and he is going to have to put the ball in a gap soon. His BABIP currently sits at .000 because he has either gotten out or hit the ball over the wall. It is rare to see a player make the jump from Double-A to the Big Leagues nowadays, but this is a shot for Castro to get everyday playing. Time. He should get about three weeks' worth of starts at second base before the Pirates give someone else a shot, and he needs to be sure to make the most of that opportunity.
That means showing that he can be a consistent Big League hitter and not just a power threat at the plate. Throughout his five Minor League seasons, Castro has had a sub .270 batting average only twice and had a career-high .300 batting average already this season. Without spending any time in Triple-A, Castro still needs to work on his timing and that will, in turn, help him get more of those singles, doubles, and triples. Once Castro gets that first non-home run hit off his chest, it will make things easier and he can relax his approach at the plate and focus on just hitting. The defense has been solid, both a second base and at third base, and he is making all the plays he needs to. Now, if he can add some consistent contact to go along with his home run power, we could be talking about an impact player for the next couple of seasons.
The final two months of the season are going to see the Pirates experiment with their middle infield to see which pieces work for the future. The first guy to get a shot at second base is Rodolfo Castro, and as long as he keeps hitting he should get opportunities. At just 22-years-old, he is one of the youngest players on the field but is making a big impact. However, he will have to keep hitting as there are several guys below him who would love to come in and take his job. Hoy Jun Park, Cole Tucker, and anyone else the Pirates may acquire before Friday's trade deadline have a shot at taking the spot. However, with Castro hitting home runs at a high rate in the Big Leagues, look for him to hold down that position, at least for the immediate future.
The Pittsburgh Pirates (38-63) wrap up their three-game series with the Milwaukee Brewers (60-42) this evening at 7:05 pm. Chad Kuhl (3-5, 4.38) looks to continue his strong stretch that has seen him post a 2.47 ERA over his last six starts, against Freddy Peralta (7-3, 2.29). You can watch the game live on AT&T Sportsnet, listen on 93.7 The Fan, or follow along with us on Twitter by following @Buccos_Cove.
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