Yes. He has Over 57.2 innings, Castillo has a 2.81 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, and 73:17 K: BB ratio this season.
Diego Castillo, another infield prospect acquired by the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trade deadline, was one of many candidates to start the season as the team’s starting second baseman.
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He’s been one of the Pirates’ most productive players this spring, and he’s won the starting job to begin the season.
Castillo had an outstanding season at the plate. He spent the majority of the season with the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates’ Double-A affiliates, but he did have a 70-plate appearance cameo at Triple-A Indianapolis near the conclusion.
Castillo batted .278/.355/.478 with a .366 wOBA and a 128 wRC+ for these three teams.
Castillo’s output of power was unheard of in his career. With a .209 isolated slugging percentage and a slugging percentage near .500, he hit 19 home runs. He only had nine career home runs from 2015 to 2019.
Castillo’s improved at-bat productivity can be attributed to a significant difference in batted ball rates. Before 2021, he was a big ground ball hitter with a 48% ground ball rate.
However, he reduced it to 38.2 percent this season. This resulted in a significant increase in fly ball rate (from 33% to 41.2%), as well as a modest rise in line-drive rate (19 percent to 20.6 percent ).
Prior to 2021, the prospect’s biggest selling point was his ability to avoid strikeouts, which was unaffected by his enhanced power.
Castillo only struck out 12.7 percent of the time. Another plus is that he increased his walking rate dramatically, from 6.4 percent to 10%. With his great ability to make contact and now rising power production and plate patience, he’s developed into a well-rounded hitter.
His middle-infield defense is strong, so he should be alright at second base.
Castillo has only made 21 plate appearances this spring, but he’s tied for the team lead in hits with 7, leads the team in home runs with 3, and has an OPS of 1.271, second only to Greg Allen (min. 10 PAs).