Is This Guy the Next Willi Castro?

[Greggory Masterson]

Image courtesy of © Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

Sometimes, our experiences become our prison wardens, rather than our teachers. Every player we don’t like is “just another Miguel Sanó.” When Derek Shelton manages the bullpen well, he “reminds me of Tom Kelly.” When the bullpen blows up, Shelton “has too much Rocco Baldelli in him.”

One such trope is figuring out who The Next Willi Castro is. If you don’t believe me when I say people are hung up on the idea of finding the Next Willi Castro, a couple of quick Twitter searches showed me that the following players have been called the Next Willi Castro or the New Willi Castro: Kody Clemens, Austin Martin, Vidal Bruján, Tristan Gray, Dan Altavilla, and Ryan Kreidler. Our own Eric Blonigen asked last year if Thomas Hatch was the Next Willi Castro. 

To paraphrase the honorable Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, I don’t know how to define a Willi Castro, but I know one when I see one, and it is hot, hot, HOT!

Well, I lied. I think I’ve defined a Willi Castro. Or at least I’ve tried to. In the never-ending search to find the Next Willi Castro, it’s important to know what we’re looking for.

What is a Willi Castro?
Willi Castro played two and a half seasons for the Minnesota Twins. He was a roughly league-average hitter; he played every position except first base and catcher; and he stole a handful of bases. Prior to coming to Minnesota, he was an exciting prospect for the Tigers who fizzled out and was released. Minnesota signed him to a minor-league contract, but gave him $1.8 million when he made the team. Given this, he would probably be classified as a late bloomer. He was traded at the 2025 trade deadline for Ryan Gallagher and Sam Armstrong.

Obviously, no current Twins are going to map perfectly onto that. But if we’re going to continue to ask “is Mickey Gasper the Next Willi Castro??”, the least we can do is try to attack this scientifically.

Positional Flexibility
Love it or hate it, the Twins prefer players who can play multiple positions. That’s probably the most obvious place to start the Willi Castro discussion. It’s probably his most notable feature (though not the only Willi Castro feature).

The Twins have several players with positional flexibility. Ryan Kreidler has played short, third, center, and left, and he can also play second and right, essentially matching Castro’s flexibility, though with better fielding. Kody Clemens has played all three outfield spots, second, and first. He can also be an emergency option at third.

Austin Martin has lost positional flexibility over the years, and is now mostly confined to right field. Royce Lewis can play first, second, and third, and he’s allegedly asked to play the outfield as well—probably in an effort to establish himself as the Next Willi Castro. Orlando Arcia is technically still in the system, and he played all four infield positions and pitched.

The newest Twin, Kyler Fedko, can play all three outfield positions and first base, and he’s also played a little second base in the minors. Luke Keaschall is a second baseman, but he’s played first and outfield in the minors, so maybe someday he’ll be in the running.

I’m giving Willi Castro points to Kreidler, Clemens, Arcia, and Fedko, because they all have at least five positions in their bag.

Speed
The Twins haven’t been very fast in a long time. But Castro was. Anyone on the team who has a red bubble (anything over league-average) for sprint speed wins a Willi Castro point here. Byron Buxton, Keaschall, Kreidler, Martin, Clemens, Lewis. Fedko doesn’t have a competitive sprint in the majors yet, but I’ll add him in.

Late Blooming
Castro had a rough first four seasons in the major leagues, playing at roughly replacement level. He wasn’t old when he joined the Twins, but he was 26 with little MLB success.

Clemens certainly fits this criterion, as he seems to have finally become an everyday-caliber player in his late 20s. Martin is trending in that direction, as well. Fedko went from being a non-prospect to being on an MLB roster at 26. Trevor Larnach might fit the bill, too, but he’s basically been who he’s always been this year. Kreidler has played well, but probably not enough to have “bloomed” yet.

But let’s not forget the pitchers. Yoendrys Gómez is 26 and might be developing into a real late-inning arm. Joe Ryan and Bailey Ober were both old when they debuted (25), but only Ober was surprising, performance-wise. I’ll give points to Clemens, Martin, Fedko, Gómez, and Ober.

Average or Better Hitter
This is pretty easy. If your OPS+ is 100 or higher this season, you get a point: Buxton, Clemens, Kreidler, Larnach, Gabriel González, and Ryan Jeffers.

Signed to a Minor League Contract
The Twins got Castro as a 26-year-old MiLB free agent. What a steal! Other players on the team to have been acquired as such are: John Klein, Cody Laweryson, and I guess Emmanuel Rodriguez, if you wanna get technical. I’d also give a point here to players purchased or claimed on waivers: Clemens, Kreidler, Gómez, Justin Lawrence, Anthony Banda, and Taylor Rashi (I bet you didn’t expect Taylor Rashi to score a Next Willi Castro point). Half-points to Gray, Alex Jackson, Eric Orze, and Garrett Acton for being acquired in unremarkable trades.

Played for the Tigers
Yes, we’re getting this granular. The funny thing is, though, the top candidates for the role, Clemens and Kreidler, both played for Detroit. They’re the only two guys on the current roster to have done so.

Traded at the Deadline
Castro was part of the 2025 selloff. Now this hasn’t happened yet, but I’m gonna boldly predict who it’ll be this year: Josh Bell, Matt Wallner, Larnach, Banda, Lewis, Ryan, and Clemens. If you disagree, argue with the wall.

Final Tally
.5 Willi Castro points: Acton, Gray, Jackson, Orze
1 Willi Castro point: Arcia, Bell, Gonzalez, Jeffers, Keaschall, Klein, Laweryson, Lawrence, Ober, Rashi, Rodriguez, Ryan, Wallner
2 Willi Castro points: Banda, Buxton, Fedko, Gómez, Larnach, Lewis, Martin
5 Willi Castro points: Kredlier
7 Willi Castro points: Clemens

Kody Clemens went seven-for-seven in this very scientific, peer-reviewed analysis (Matthew Trueblood is, after all, a peer who reviewed this before publication). Congratulations, Kody. You are the Next Willi Castro.

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[bean5302]

Willi Castro could solidly stand where players who played MLB positions stood on the field. He couldn't field like MLB players would if real MLB caliber fielders were standing there, but Castro could stand as well as anybody.

Ryan Jeffers could be asked to stand at SS or CF, too.

[purplesoldier4u]

Tanner Schobel!