Who Drafted Willi Castro?
Castro was not drafted and instead signed as an international free agent with the Cleveland Indians in July 2013.
In 2014, he debuted professionally with the Arizona League Indians, where he lasted the entire season, batting.239 with two home runs and 11 RBIs in 43 games.
In 2015, he batted .264 with one home run, 25 RBIs, and 20 stolen bases for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, and in 2016, he batted .258 with seven home runs and 49 RBIs for the Lake County Captains and Lynchburg Hillcats, respectively.
Castro batted .290 for Lynchburg in 2017, with a career-high 11 home runs, 58 RBIs, 19 stolen bases, and a .761 on-base percentage.
After the season, the Indians added him to their 40-man roster. Castro was listed as Cleveland’s fifth-best prospect by MLB.com heading into the 2018 season.
Castro was sent to the Detroit Tigers on July 31, 2018, in exchange for Leonys Martin and Kyle Dowdy.
He split the rest of the season between the Erie SeaWolves and the Toledo Mud Hens after the trade. He returned to Toledo to begin the 2019 season.
Castro’s contract was selected by the Tigers on August 24, 2019, and he was promoted to the major leagues. That night, he made his major league debut, going 2-for-4 against the Minnesota Twins.
Castro hit his first major league home run on September 22 against Josh Osich of the Chicago White Sox. He hit .230 with one home run in 30 games this season.
Castro reported to the Tigers’ satellite training camp in Toledo for the 2020 season. On August 13, 2020, he was called up to the big league club. Castro batted .349 with six home runs and 24 RBI in 129 at-bats during the 2020 season.
Castro made the Tigers’ 2021 team out of spring training, and he played in his first major – opening day game. After some defensive issues at shortstop, manager A. J. Hinch moved Castro to second base.