23-year-old shortstop
Angel Castillo came up for enough at bats to remove his “rookie” tag last season, but the fact is that this is his first full season in the league. The first half of that season was very good, and resulted in the fact that he played in his first-ever All Star game.
The second half has been arguably better.
“He had a little slump there in June as the pitchers around the league caught up with him a little,” said hitting coach William Campbell. “But he’s got such a natural swing you had to know he was coming back Either side of the plate, the kid sees the ball really well.”
That slump Campbell refers to is the month of June, where De Castillo struggled to a .219 average after hitting .317/.402/.513 over the first two months. He was looking a bit worn out at that time, and perhaps a little over-matched as big league pitchers started going to the breaking ball more often. But he talked to Campbell and he adjusted.
July saw him his .337/.422/.505 with three homers and 19 RBI.
Then he got hot.
August’s numbers were .381/.429/.628. He hit 7 homers and drove in 23 runs, bringing his totals to 22 and 90 on the season. He leads all Frick shortstops in OBP, SLG, wOBA, HR, RBI, and Runs Scored. He’s #2 or #3 in pretty much every other category known to mankind. Defensively, his glove has
sprung an unusual hole in it, but the bat is premium, and is starting to draw even more conversation about his Puckett candidacy.
The buzz is made even louder by comments from scouts who say he’s still growing into that swing. Internal YS9 scouting reports suggest that the team has bumped it’s grade of De Castillo’s contact, and still thinks he’s got a little step to go with his power and ability to make contact and avoid strikeouts.
“He’s just getting started,” Campbell said. “Sky’s the limit.”
That rattling you hear is the sound of Frick League pitchers shaking in their boots.