Willi Castro is Becoming Disturbingly Valuable

[Ted Wiedmann]

Originally signed to fill out the roster in St. Paul, Willi Castro is close to removing himself from the send-down conversation altogether. 

Image courtesy of Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports

In December, I was pleasantly surprised when the Twins landed Willi Castro on a minor league contract. Despite some disappointing years in Detroit, I anticipated the toolsy utility man would’ve had a bigger market than what he settled for. I even wrote about how he compared similarly to former Twin Danny Santana. However, all of that excitement on my behalf was with the expectation that Castro would be in St. Paul for most of the year and would be more of a reclamation project than a semi-platoon Big-Leaguer. 

If you had told me, coming into 2023, that 50 games into the season, Castro would have not only been on the Major League squad for all of those games but eighth on the team in fWAR, I would have guessed some horrible things happened in Minnesota. While this season has undoubtedly had its lumps, the Twins are still on pace to meet their preseason projections. 

The hope moving forward is the Twins never get to the point where Castro needs to be an everyday player, but it seems like they’re getting dangerously close. There is value in having capable role players, but I would be worried if Castro is ever more than that. His lack of plate discipline and his propensity to swing and miss can infuriate Twins fans, and while defensively versatile, versatility is often caused by the inability to stick in one spot. 

While not playing a huge role offensively or defensively, Castro has been a nice surprise in demonstrating his ability to hold down a spot as a 26th man on a Major League Roster. He is having his best offensive season since 2020 and has earned the trust of the coaching staff to play all three infield spots and all three outfield spots.

Castro’s most significant impact on the team has been his baserunning. Despite having the 11th most plate appearances on the Twins, Castro leads the team in stolen bases with seven. He also ranks sixth on the team in baserunning runs above average. 

 

Castro’s utility as a defender and his ability to switch hit earned him a spot on the roster initially, but his performance has kept him in The Show. Having options on his contract ensured he has always been a send-down candidate whenever a prospect has been ready, or a player was coming back from an injury. However, he has played well enough to force the Twins to keep him away from St. Paul. 

Having out-performed Nick Gordon and Donovan Solano thus far, combined with his ability to create chaos on the basepaths, Castro has proven to be an important piece on the Twins. With the current status of injuries, Castro will likely become even more valuable, and they may need to rely on him in a way they didn’t anticipate coming into the year.

You can bet the Detroit Tigers regret DFA-ing the 26-year-old, as both his 93 wRC+ and 0.4 fWAR would rank fifth on the Tigers. Their lineup remains futile. 

 

When the Twins are going through a tough stretch, sometimes it’s nice to find some positives with the team and remind yourself it’s about the whole season, not just ten or 20-game samples. Castro isn't putting up eye-popping offensive totals – or at least he wasn't before Saturday's multi-homer outburst – but he's found a role on a division-leading team, and his skill set is helping his team win games.

I mean, heck, the guy stole home. Who doesn’t love that? 

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[gman]

Bad news. He had 2 homers and stolen base today. His OPS is up to 776.

[weitz41]

But is it like a Blind Squirrel or the FO know the nut was there? I'd voting blind squirrel.

 

[Craig Arko]

My prediction: When Kepler, Polanco, and Lewis rejoin the team Castro will be back on the bench. But he will be on the Twins bench and not the Saints.

[LA VIkes Fan]

I think you're right unless.... can he play a a passable CF? MAT is way off, may be because of his back issues. I see an IL stint coming for him.  Castro as an everyday CF a possibility?

[tony&rodney]

Castro should have earned a utility spot with his versatility and all around play. 

[mrtwinsfan]

Swiss  Army Knife, younger than Gordon 1 year- . needs to shorten up that swing a bit, And if Buxton can’t Play C.F. Castro as a 2nd or 3rd option is fine with me, Sorry Celestino you had your chance, injured i know, And M.A.T. IS WEARING Down, We all want Buck,  1st, , Anyone hear why when the season started Twins said Buck would be ready ?  mid to late may, , Only thing i heard was from Bremer talking about Correa talking to Buck about staying at D.h, and they would re-evaluate Mid Summer, , IDK ? But sure hope Willi Castro at his young age can keep improving, 

[Doctor Gast]

IMO Nash hit the nail on the head, Castro is a gamer. He gets hit, steal & take a base  when we need them. I'd rather have a player like that, than someone who piles up HRs when we don't need them & SO when we do. His versatility is a great benefit.

[Squirrel]

1 hour ago, weitz41 said:

But is it like a Blind Squirrel or the FO know the nut was there? I'd voting blind squirrel.

 

Squirrel is not blind. Just sayin’ 🙂

[roger]

Castro should have surpassed Gordon.  Expect he is here all year.  And that is good.

[ashbury]

I don't know if I said much at the time of his signing but I recall liking the idea of stashing in St Paul a youngish player who at one time seemed to have a ceiling of major league regular.  His progression through his mid-20s suggested he was ready to contribute, and then he scuffled at bat for two years at the major league level after a fairly promising showing as a 23-year old in the weird Covid year of 2020.  So he wasn't far from being an asset, and it's slightly surprising the Tigers gave up on him with a minor league option remaining.  He just turned 26 and may be simply a late bloomer where it comes to major league performance.  Their loss, our gain.

[ashbury]

3 hours ago, Ted Wiedmann said:

 

 

 

 

He's the complete package. It's rare to find a 14-tool player.

[Ted Wiedmann]

2 hours ago, mrtwinsfan said:

Swiss  Army Knife, younger than Gordon 1 year- . needs to shorten up that swing a bit, And if Brittles wont Play C.F. Castro as a 2nd or 3rd option is fine with me, Sorry Celestino you had your chance, injured i know, And M.A.T. IS WEARING Down, We all want Buck,  1st, , Anyone hear why when the season started Twins said Buck would be ready ?  mid to late may, , Only thing i heard was from Bremer talking about Correa talking to Buck about staying at D.h, and they would re-evaluate Mid Summer, , IDK ? But sure hope Willi Castro at his young age can keep improving, 

No inside info but I get the impression the longer that Buck stays healthy the more inclined they'll be to keep him at DH.

I don't know if I'd be on board with Willi as an everyday CFer, but hey, he's already surpassed expectations why not keep going?  

[Ted Wiedmann]

37 minutes ago, ashbury said:

I don't know if I said much at the time of his signing but I recall liking the idea of stashing in St Paul a youngish player who at one time seemed to have a ceiling of major league regular.  His progression through his mid-20s suggested he was ready to contribute, and then he scuffled at bat for two years at the major league level after a fairly promising showing as a 23-year old in the weird Covid year of 2020.  So he wasn't far from being an asset, and it's slightly surprising the Tigers gave up on him with a minor league option remaining.  He just turned 26 and may be simply a late bloomer where it comes to major league performance.  Their loss, our gain.

Very surprising move from them considering the upside he flashed, the physical tools, and the lack of investment in bats on their part.

Maybe it's an organizational thing where they want to stay away from high K%-low BB% guys but their depth of hitting prospects is ROUGH 

[ashbury]

17 minutes ago, Ted Wiedmann said:

No inside info but I get the impression the longer that Buck stays healthy the more inclined they'll be to keep him at DH.

Kind of a Catch-22.  If Buxton becomes injured, then he shouldn't come back and play CF when healed.  And if he's not injured, well, why mess with success?

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

Someday I’d like to meet one of these players with zero tools!

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

We would share a lot in common 🤣

[Ted Wiedmann]

2 hours ago, ashbury said:

Kind of a Catch-22.  If Buxton becomes injured, then he shouldn't come back and play CF when healed.  And if he's not injured, well, why mess with success?

I wonder if other teams will start to do this more with oft-injured stars to keep them healthy. Would be interesting to see if guys like Tatis and Acuna start to seeing more DH at bats 

[Ted Wiedmann]

4 minutes ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

Someday I’d like to meet one of these players with zero tools!

You bought your insurance from one of them 😂

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

1 minute ago, Ted Wiedmann said:

You bought your insurance from one of them 😂

Haha that’s actually true!! 🙂

[Dman]

Castro can drive me crazy swinging at stuff far outside the zone but when he is on he is a difference maker.  He has a ton of tools switch hitter, can play almost every position, runs the bases well and can steal bases.  If he had a bit better plate discipline you would say he is an every day player.  I just hope the bat keeps producing as that is what we need the most but no question he is a valuable player in the field.  I think Gordon is on the hot seat with Castro around as the switch hitting ability plus good defense in the infield and outfield make him more valuable.  If he continues to hit I can't see the Twins sending him down.

[DocBauer]

Dejavu here as I just got done talking about Castro in today's game thread. But here I go.

I think a number of us really liked signing the then 25yo Castro because he had a nice tool box of ability and potential but was promoted a bit early and never developed in Detroit. Agreed he was supposed to be in St Paul as a reclamation project who might help, added depth, and might surprise as a utility player. He really only made the club out of ST due to some injuries.

But all he's done is answer the bell, play acceptable defense wherever they've put him, and that includes a few innings in CF where he, at least, hasn't embarrassed himself. This/he reminds me of Gordon a couple years ago when he got his shot and learned to play the OF/CF on the fly. Now, Cruz has played the OF before, but I think the reference is accurate.

Castro seems to run the bases well, and has shown he can be a successful SB threat. He's also laid down some nice bunts...a lost art...that only he and our catchers seem to be able to do, lol. And while regression will certainly take hold any day now, let's look at his MLB page and examine his recent quad slash line:

LAST 30 GAMES:  .284/ .346/ .514/ .860

LAST 15 GAMES:  .320/ .346/ .580/ .926

LAST  7 GAMES:  .360/ .407/ .680/ 1087

OBVIOUSLY, there is no way he maintains this kind of production. Nothing in history indicates prolonged performance like this. And we're taking 74 AB. But still, he's been performing for 30 games, not just a week or two. This tells me that despite his numbers returning to the norm, he actually might be starting to become the solid ML player he was expected to be originally, now recently turned all of 26yo.

He might also turn back in to a pumpkin very quickly, with no glass cleat to make him special, other than as a really nice and versatile utility player. But what would be wrong with that?

I'm sorry to inform a lot of fans who haven't figured it out yet, but Buxton's days as the principal CF for the Twins are over. But that's a very different discussion for another day and another OP. Taylor has been great in CF, and produced as well as I'd hoped for. And if his back settles down, and he doesn't have to play DAILY, he just might end up having one of is most productive seasons. But Celestino and Martin...both talented and young and having possible futures...will only get a half season at best in 2023, and aren't going to factor this year. At least for 2023, Lewis will also not be a CF option. Gordon is out for a month or more, which really hurts as he's an OK CF and his bat was just starting to FINALLY heat up. And while Kepler can help give Taylor some days off in CF...and he's going to have to...Castro is going to get a shot to help there.

If any part of his recent offensive development is real and true, he deserves a shot there as an occasional option. He's shown he can cover LF and help in the INF. He can work with Kepler to give Taylor a day off here and there.

Make no mistake, a month from now, Castro could be flailing at the plate and be gone/demoted. But he wasn't even supposed to make the opening day roster. But so far, all he's done is do his job, help, and get better. He should NOT be an integral piece for this team. But could he continue to be a contributor to the 2023 Twins? So far, he's trending upwards. 

[VivaBomboRivera!]

If he can learn how to draw more walks, it will make him an even more valuable base runner in addition to cutting down his strikeout rate.

[Rik19753]

Don't look now, but Castro has the 3rd most WAR for a position player on the Twins after yesterday's game.

The other 4 players in the top 5 are Buxton, Gallo, Jeffers and Michael A. Taylor. This year is tremendously weird.

[Squirrel]

35 minutes ago, Rik19753 said:

Don't look now, but Castro has the 3rd most WAR for a position player on the Twins after yesterday's game.

The other 4 players in the top 5 are Buxton, Gallo, Jeffers and Michael A. Taylor. This year is tremendously weird.

Typical of baseball to have weirdness

[Nine of twelve]

The emergence of Castro doesn't seem like a fluke. One upshot of this is that Nick Gordon's usefulness to the Twins has diminished. I look for the team to move Gordon at the deadline if not sooner, and I truly hope he has success elsewhere.

[hitterscount]

Players that perform shouldn't be bounced around from the big league to AAA. Much like Ober should have been a starter coming out of spring training, Castro has proven he deserves a spot on the roster. You have trade chips in Kepler and Polanco, one can be used to help the BP if the offer is fair, otherwise cut bait with Solano when they return. 

[VivaBomboRivera!]

19 minutes ago, hitterscount said:

Castro has proven he deserves a spot on the roster.

He certainly proved it yesterday, but to borrow a phrase, "the moment's over." He'll have to keep performing at this level a little while longer to prove he should stay.

Time to make hay - the sun is shining.

[saviking]

Castro is on a hot streak and good for him. Bottom line is there is not enough room for Castro AND Gordon when Gordon returns. Our young guys like Krilloff, Larnach, Wallner, Julien and soon to be Lewis are pushing hard and if Miranda figures out how to be more disciplined at the plate and how to deal with how the league has figured him out he could be back later as well. Then we have Kepler and Polanco coming back sometime as well.

Basically, what I'm saying is we are going to soon have a log jam. Knowing the Twins management it will work to the detriment of the young guys who still have plenty of options left but I don't see Krilloff or Lewis going down. 

But next year, and with Lee being ready, I could see at lot of veterans gone ..

[gman]

11 hours ago, Hosken Bombo Disco said:

Someday I’d like to meet one of these players with zero tools!

Hi