Castillo flashes big production in little time with D-backs
Catcher Welington Castillo came to the Arizona Diamondbacks with little fanfare despite an intriguing major league resume.
In Castillo's first three weeks, he has made a strong case to be included in their long-term plans.
Castillo's three-run home run in the second inning gave Chase Anderson a lead he never lost, helping the D-backs end a three-game losing streak in a 6-4 victory over San Diego at Petco Park on Saturday.
"Welington's home run was beautiful," manager Chip Hale told reporters.
Castillo has done this sort of thing before.
Castillo has four homers in 52 plate appearances since arriving from Seattle in the Mark Trumbo trade on June 3, including a two-run shot in the seventh inning of his second start that lifted the D-backs to a 2-1 victory over the Mets on June 6. He also has three doubles and 11 RBI.
The Trumbo trade was necessitated by Yasmany Tomas' continued success and third baseman Jake Lamb's return from injury, but the D-backs seemed to talk just as much about the addition of minor leaguers Gabby Guerrero and infielder Jack Reinheimer than they did of Castillo.
Castillo came with a pedigree, even though he had little to show after opening the season stuck behind Miguel Montero in Chicago. The Cubs had agreed to absorb the final $40 million on Montero's contract to contend this season, while trading two pitching prospects to the D-backs at the winter meetings.
As the Cubs' primary catcher in 2013 and 2014, Castillo had 42 doubles, 21 homers and 76 RBI in 760 plate appearances. He hit .274 with 23 doubles in 2013 and hit .237 with 13 homers and 46 RBI in 2014. Aside from that production -- above the major league average for the position -- Castillo threw out 29 percent of the runners attempting to steal on him in 2013 and 33 percent in 2014. That was slightly above the league average, which was 28 percent in both years.
The D-backs also believe he has been able to get the best out of youth-league friend Rubby De La Rosa, who gave up nine runs in five innings the first time the pair worked together on June 8 in Los Angeles but who has given up 0, 1 and 1 earned runs in his last three starts with Castillo.
With two years of arbitration eligibility remaining, Castillo will be affordable moving forward. With minor league prospect Peter O'Brien apparently out of the mix at catcher for the immediate future, at least, there would seem to be room for Castillo for years to come.
Castillo is the fifth catcher the D-backs have used this season, following an unfortunate series of injuries to Tuffy Gosewisch, Gerald Laird and Oscar Hernandez.
Gosewisch, who won the job this spring and performed well in a two-way role, is expected to miss the rest of the season after suffering a torn ACL on May 27. Laird has not played since the first week of the season because of a back injury. Hernandez has not played this season after suffering a fractured hamate bone in spring training.
The D-backs signed Jarrod Saltalamacchia when Gosewisch was placed on the disabled list, and he has had some good at-bats, but his job could be in jeopardy when Hernandez returns from the disabled list. The D-backs have said Hernandez, a Rule 5 pick, will be promoted to the majors instead of being offered back to Tampa Bay.
San Diego third baseman Will Middlebrooks turned his right ankle when he stepped on a bat left in the D-backs' on-deck circle while chasing a foul popup by Cliff Pennington in the seventh inning. Middlebrooks, who could not make a play on an otherwise very catchable ball, was forced to leave the game.
6 -- Homers, three by each team. David Peralta and Jake Lamb also homered ford the D-backs, while Derek Norris had two and Matt Kemp had one for the Padres.
* Chase Anderson will not get credit for a quality start after giving up four runs in seven innings, but he nursed a lead without his best stuff and rose to the occasion in the fifth inning, after Clint Barmes doubled to lead off the inning with the D-backs holding a 4-3 lead. After a sacrifice bunt moved Barmes to third, Anderson got two groundouts to prevent the tying run from scoring, and Jake Lamb gave Anderson some breathing room with his two-run homer in the sixth inning.
* Now that Brad Ziegler has established himself as the closer, Daniel Hudson has moved into the eighth-inning role, a move that was reinforced when right-hander Addison Reed was optioned to Triple-A Reno last Monday. Hudson has entered in the eighth or ninth inning in 11 of his last 12 appearances, starting with the 7-6, 17-inning loss at Milwaukee on Memorial Day. He is 1-2 with six holds and a save in that stretch.
* David Peralta's homer in the third inning was his first since May 29, a span of 76 at-bats.
* Cliff Pennington was listed as the starting left fielder on the lineup card for the first time this season Sunday, when A.J. Pollock was given a day off and David Peralta moved over to center field for the first time this season. Ever the athlete, Pennington made a nice sliding catch in foul territory near the wall on Clint Barmes' fly in the seventh inning. Pennington was credited for a start in left field when played nine innings there July 15 after replacing starter Ender Inciarte, who suffered a hamstring injury in the top of the first inning and had to leave the game.
* Jake Lamb has two-hit efforts in three of his last four games. He singled, homered and scored twice Sunday.
Right-hander Aaron Blair gave up six hits and one unearned run in six innings for Triple-A Reno on Sunday afternoon, his second quality start in three appearances since being promoted from Double-A Mobile. Blair leads the affiliated minor leagues with 100 innings pitched this season, and he did not miss a turn even after during after his promotion, pitching in Mobile on June 12 and in Reno on June 17.
Follow Jack Magruder on Twitter
