Daniel Castro

nsacpi

nsacpi

Expects Yuge Games
We've accumulated a nice group of middle infield prospects that project as utility infielders in the majors. Elmer Reyes and Phil Gosselin have gotten some much deserved attention for the strong seasons they've had.

But there is another guy who maybe has a little more upside. Daniel Castro has hit .292 (279 PAs) in Lynchburg and .333 (63 PAs) so far this season in Mississippi. Like Reyes and Gosselin he doesn't have much power. Like them he is a solid defender with some versatility having gone back and forth between second and short the last two seasons.

There are a couple things that potentially could set him apart from Reyes and Gosselin down the road. One is age. He is 21, 2 years younger than Reyes and 4 years younger than Gosselin. Age is but one variable that gives us some information about a player's future development curve, but everything else equal younger players on average have more development ahead of them.

The other thing that differentiates Castro a bit from the other two is the strikeout rate. All three have low walk rates, but Castro has a significantly lower strikeout rate, just 7.2% in his time in Lynchburg and 1.6% in Mississippi. Unlike the other two, his success this year has not been BABIP driven.

I don't think Castro projects as a major league regular. But imo he projects a little higher arc to his career than Gosselin and Reyes.
 
They have to make a decision whether or not to put him on the 40-man roster over the winter. Interesting decision ahead.

I agree that he likely projects as a utility guy, but at age 21 you can never really tell. Didn't hit much at all in the DSL, but picked it up when he was playing in the Mexican League (where the Braves have an agreement with a couple of teams and place some players there periodically). I think one indicator of what the Braves think of him is that they moved Peraza off SS and kept Castro there. The fact that Simmons is ensconced at SS at the big league level may have something to do with that, but the Braves usually leave prospects as SS as long as they can.
 
I could see Castro turning out the best among them (including Reyes and Gosselin). I like him best so far from what I've seen of all three anyway. I like both him and Reyes better than Gosselin. I know Gosselin is having a great year but I don't see him as that good. I see it as more him having his best season, then falling back to his career norm in the future. Reyes and Castro have more upside than Gosselin moving forward IMO.

Castro and Reyes are also legit options to play short if we need a back-up for Simmons. Gosselin was tried there this year but isn't really a legit option IMO.
 
Castro is clubbing the ball in Double-A at age 21. I don't agree that there's a lack of power in his tools; he's hit three in his last nine games without any real detriment to his average or contact (one strikeout). He also hit eight homers in his partial season in Mexico last year. He looks a little thicker than the 5-11, 170 he lists at; he could be bringing some pop to the party when it's all said and done.

Try this number on for size: in his first 64 Double-A at-bats, ONE strikeout vs 22 hits (eight for extra bases). That's a 17-game "sample."
 
The thing that concerns me about Castro, at least in terms of him being anything more than a backup, is his extremely low walk rate of just 5.4%, and this year it is even worse at 3.2%. This really mutes his OBP and keeps his ceiling as a backup at best.
 
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