ST. PETERSBURG - Diego Castillo has hit six home runs in his last 46 plate appearances, as of this writing.
Diego Castillo also has seven hits in that span, and just one walk.
The Pirates called up Castillo at the start of the season, after a strong performance in Spring Training that saw him hit for a 1.281 OPS, with six homers in 38 plate appearances.
The power is impressive, and the recent resurgence is a reminder of the impact that Castillo can have at the plate.
"I think he’s getting the ball up, which is good," Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. "When the ball stays up and he’s able to get his A-swing off, we’ve seen him be able to get the ball elevated."
Castillo said the key to getting this type of home run producing swing is getting a feel for his barrel.
"I thi...
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Great interview, Tim.
Worth tracking that Castillo is furthest underwater of anyone on the team by xwOBA differential. Based on batted ball quality, he’d be expected to be running a .240 BA and .459 slugging percentage right now.
xwOBA predicted Bryan Reynolds’ resurgence this year and Adam Frazier’s regression last, among too many others to count. Pretty powerful stuff.
Thanks for the mention of xwOBA. Greek to me right now, but you guys have dragged me kicking and screaming into the “new” baseball, and it has helped me a lot. I have always just looked at the Strikeouts to Walks ratio as an indication of players that hurt a lineup.
Of players I expect to complete the season with the Pirates, acceptable K/BB are Reynolds 2.40 and Hayes 2.41. Suwinski is 3.47 and I’m taking that every day for a 24 year old rookie, 0 yrs of MLB Service, who already has 13 HR.
So, I also throw age into the consideration. Castillo is 5.88 and in his age 24 season – not good. Chavis is in his age 27 season, with 3 years of MLB Service (Arb eligible) and is carrying a 5.17 – totally unacceptable. Marcano and Castro, both 23 with 0 yrs of MLB service are both in the 3’s, and like Castillo, can play multiple positions.
Seems to be a problem with a few Bucco’s. Hitting some homeruns but not much else. Also, most of our homeruns are usually solo shots.
Michael Perez on line one
Agree wholeheartedly – Perez on the Pirates roster is just not the direction a team like the Pirates should be taking. Jason Delay at AAA needs to get MLB experience – he could be a solid backup and big brother type for Davis. Make it happen Ben.