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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.

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Yellow Springs Nine
Playoff Regular, Landis Averse

I'm curious, how bad does he have to be at SS for you to move him?

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Brett Schroeder
Boise Spuds GM '35 - present

Vancouver Mounties GM '10 - '34
JL Pacific Champs '10, '12, '21, '22, '28

California Crusaders GM '96 - '05
JL Pacific Champs '02
Landis Champs '02

I'm actually intrigued by De Castilllo's defensive numbers this year. I expected he would be low on errors--which matches his ratings and his past performance, at least after the initial crap learning phase. I also expected he would be a near zero zone rating, which matches his performance from his 40+ games last year (+0.6 ZR, 1.010 EFF)...effectively cost neutral. His current numbers (20 errors, .968, -7.6 ZR and .967 EFF) are worrisome at this point. I expected them to even out based on past performance and sample size.

So, to answer the question, depending on a few other factors, we'll probably see him at SS again next year for awhile to see if this does level out. But at some point, given that McNeill is fading at 2B also, I'll have to rethink the plan if he keeps going at this level.

The one saving grace is that with the bat still growing, he's still, IMHO, the best SS in the Frick league overall. Your mileage may vary, of course.

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Yellow Springs Nine
Playoff Regular, Landis Averse

He's not even the best in the heartland...

Not bad though.,.we would probably let him play second base

Maguire and De Castillo fans can have a good debate. The depths of De Castillo's woes with the glove probably to give the overall nod to Maguire right now, though De Castillo's bat is pretty clearly the strongest in the league.

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Yellow Springs Nine
Playoff Regular, Landis Averse