Is Harold Castro Good?

Harold Castro Stats

 

 

Is Harold Castro Good?

Over the last few years, Harold Castro has grown into a fascinating character. Players with his profile don’t usually last this long.

The ability to contribute platoon power, defense at important spots, or speed on the basepaths is why teams keep bench players.

We like to think of them as guys who have good secondary tools but haven’t quite figured out how to hit consistently enough to crack the starting lineup. Castro, who is 28 years old, is a rare breed.

Castro isn’t a great fielder, but he’s still a solid second baseman with some versatility around the diamond. He also doesn’t fulfill the bare minimum requirements for speed or power.

He has only eight home runs and six stolen bases in 231 major league games. Instead, he’s a pure contact hitter, a profile that’s becoming increasingly rare these days.

Castro’s one-of-a-kind, vintage skillset has grown into a potent weapon in his own right as manager A.J. Hinch began to trust him over the course of the 2021 season, and he played a key role in stitching together a roster riddled with gaps.

As a result, the Tigers decided to keep him after the non-tender deadline passed, and he looks like he’ll get a big raise in his first year of arbitration.

That’s considerably more than anyone expected of him when he progressed through the Tigers’ farm system as a certain role 4 type prospect.

Castro had a 33.7 percent line drive percentage during 339 plate appearances, which was the highest of any qualified hitter in 2021.

Castro has had substantially above average hitting averages on balls in play throughout his minor league career (BABIP).

He’s carved out a decent little major league job thanks to his high line drive rate and ability to spray ground balls and flares into whatever hole the defense leaves him.