Is Willi Castro a Better Defensive Option at Third Base Than Kyle Farmer?

[Mike Sixel]

36 minutes ago, Jocko87 said:

A partial platoon probably does make some sense but I don't know what they value most.  If they want to hold Farmer back to pull Julien late then that's the way they would go.  That's why I say it matters more what other flexibility they lose, to me it's not so much a third base question.

martin can play 2nd.....as can julien...as can castro. I have no idea why they'd not start Farmer at 3rd against a lefty....

[rv78]

Lost in the equation is Jose Miranda. A good RH bat that fills 3B. Castro can continue to play in the OF if Miranda gets 3B. He only hit .320 this spring and has shown when healthy he's a better hitter than Farmer, Castro or Martin. Maybe he is a step down on defense but that isn't everything. Sometimes a bat can make up the difference, if given the chance.

[nicksaviking]

4 hours ago, bean5302 said:

vs. LHP in 2022 at AA in 134 plate appearances
.210/.373/.276 OPS .649. 20.1% BB, 26.9% K, .066 ISO

vs. LHP in 2023 at AAA in 43 plate appearances
.333/.442/.361 OPS .803, 16.3% BB, 18.6% K, .028 ISO
 

His walk rate vanishes? Even when Julien isn't hitting left handers in the minors, he's still getting on base at a top end clip. His professional at bats and OBP alone should keep him on the field to try to improve the hitting. We should drool over an OBP that good against same-handed pitching.

[RpR]

1 hour ago, rv78 said:

Lost in the equation is Jose Miranda. A good RH bat that fills 3B. Castro can continue to play in the OF if Miranda gets 3B. He only hit .320 this spring and has shown when healthy he's a better hitter than Farmer, Castro or Martin. Maybe he is a step down on defense but that isn't everything. Sometimes a bat can make up the difference, if given the chance.

Step down, he is a flight of Stairs.

Santana is here because they need his defense; I doubt they will let Third Base become a free hit zone.

[Fatbat]

10 hours ago, Parfigliano said:

I like Julien getting more opportunity to see LHP.

Just a matter of time until Julien becomes an Allstar. He is driven to be the best. When he matures a little more and hones his craft, he will be crazy good offensively and defensively. 

[USAFChief]

6 hours ago, Jocko87 said:

 If they want to hold Farmer back to pull Julien late then that's the way they would go.  

They wouldn't need to "hold Farmer back" to pull Julien late.

Castro in for Julien, goes to 3rd, Farmer to 2nd.

Not that I'm advocating this. Just saying.

 

[bean5302]

6 hours ago, nicksaviking said:

His walk rate vanishes? Even when Julien isn't hitting left handers in the minors, he's still getting on base at a top end clip. His professional at bats and OBP alone should keep him on the field to try to improve the hitting. We should drool over an OBP that good against same-handed pitching.

I guess the below MiLB average production was more important to me than the walks... which disappeared at the MLB level. He doesn't take professional at bats against LHP. He takes desperate at bats against LHP, hoping they miss their spots and walk him because he can't hit the pitches. 

[Fatbat]

We are going to have guys bouncing around positions depending on the situation. The team is built that way purposely. Put the best guy possible in the best position as the situation dictates. Who’s on first, what’s on2nd, idk’s on third. 

[JD-TWINS]

18 hours ago, PatPfund said:

The OP is a solid argument for seeing Castro more at 3B, though I expect there will be a fair amount of Farmer there as well. I'd also call up Martin first. It is time, and (especially if Kepler is dinged up) the Twins need OF help more than infield help.

I strongly suspect Julien is also going to force more playing time very soon. He is a good athlete with the drive to improve his game where it is weakest; he's already shown it on the defensive side, and he put a focus on hitting lefties in the offseason. Last season's batting-against-LH-stats may soon be as useless as last season's first half defensive stats became to judging Julien's current defensive ability. But if not, Martin plays a decent 2B. (But I could also live with a Martin in LF, Byron in CF, Wallner in RF outfield in the short run with Castro playing more infield.)

Would be really surprised if MARTIN wasn’t the call-up today. Gotta have OF support with Castro moving to 3B on some regular basis over the next couple months. Obviously, he can play IF if they have an emergency need there. LARNACH is on IL with foot problems, so there doesn’t seem to be any other reasonable guy other than Martin.

Keirsey didn’t get much of a look this Spring. Helman is a big possibility, but am assuming Martin is higher on the list.

[Otaknam]

This is one area I trust Baldelli to make the right decision. Pitching not so much. 

[ashbury]

4 hours ago, JD-TWINS said:

Keirsey didn’t get much of a look this Spring. Helman is a big possibility, but am assuming Martin is higher on the list.

Guys already on the 40-man roster will always get the first look except if they are injured.

[Jeff K]

On 3/29/2024 at 9:30 AM, Dman said:

They will both get their chances at third.  I think it will depend on who fits best in the lineup more than anything else.  It would also depend on where they feel they need Castro the most.

Defensively I do like Castro better at third, but Farmer was kept on to be a lefty killer and fill in for injuries so he will be out there as he is good enough defensively to be trusted in all the infield spots.  We'll see how they mix and match going forward.

With the Martin call up, his infield play is most likely at 2nd base...in addition to the outfield.