2031.10 - LB Independent - Castillo Earns Another Turn

[Lane]

August 2, 2031
Calgary, ALB

Long Beach Manager Anthony Light addressed the media following his team's 6-3 victory this evening at The Stockyard against the division rival Pioneers.

"Absolutely, Pepe pitched a helluva game," he said, regarding left-hander Pepe Castillo's 7 inning, 4 hit, 1 R performance. It was a very strong follow up to his debut performance in Long Beach against Louisville. In that game, he held the defending champion Sluggers to 4 hits in 5.1 shutout innings.

"He absolutely deserves to stay in the rotation, at leas for now," said Light. "We brought him in to face a couple of clubs that struggle a bit against lefties, and he succeeded. We like the different look that he gives opposing clubs."

In an era where many BBA GM's are seeking to load up their rotations with LHP's, GM Stephen Lane has not hesitated to move in the opposite direction. He's noted on many occasions that it's the quality of pitcher that really matters, not the handedness. And he's stocked the bullpen with lefty specialists to handle those late-game high leverage situations. So far, so good, with the team ERA sitting 5th in the Frick, and perhaps it would be even better if it weren't for the team's disastrous April.

Castillo is 27 years old and has been toiling in LBC's minor league system since 2023, and reached AAA way back in 2026. He represented his native Cuba in the recent World Championship of Baseball. Castillo was not available for comment following tonight's game, but The Independent hopes to catch up with the lefty soon.

Assuming Light sticks to the plan and keeps Castillo in the rotation, he's lined up to face the River Monsters in Minnesota later this week. Sending a fly ball pitcher to a homer-friendly park seemed like a bad idea to me, so I asked our resident stat-head Sean A. Brown-Riggs to take a look.

Sean told me that it really doesn't matter who pitches against TWC because they're probably going to lose anyway.

Sean analyzed the River Monster's lineup and told me that only two of their big power hitters are right-handed. Righties Chris Limon and Ignacio Marrero could take Castillo deep, but Jorge Caballero, Ray Cooper, and Juan Cruz will all be at a platoon disadvantage vs Pepe.

Now that is some cutting edge, razor sharp statistical analysis. Only the best here at The Independent.

[RonCo]

HArd to argue with a .73 ERA.

These shorter sims so allow for a little extra adjustment here and there. It'll be interesting to watch Castillo.

[Lane]

He's definitely not the best pitcher for my park, but he's useful in the right spots. Like you said, shorter sims=more tinkering.

[Lane]

Not to mention the 614 ERA+

[RonCo]

Which begs the question: Is Pepe Castillo the best pitcher in baseball?

[Lane]

Absolutely, no doubt about it.