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!

[Tom Froemming]

No, the next Willi Castro is Greggory Masterson.

[ashbury]

22 minutes ago, Tom Froemming said:

No, the next Willi Castro is Greggory Masterson.

The facial hair makes him the next Fidel Castro.  Is that his ceiling, or his floor, as a prospect?  I don't know that.

[Greggory Masterson]

37 minutes ago, ashbury said:

The facial hair makes him the next Fidel Castro.  Is that his ceiling, or his floor, as a prospect?  I don't know that.

Technically both Castros showed up to a tryout with this organization 

[Western SD Fan]

7 minutes ago, Greggory Masterson said:

Technically both Castros showed up to a tryout with this organization 

That is just like the Twins organization.  They have a chance to alter history and they blow it.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

29 minutes ago, Greggory Masterson said:

Technically both Castros showed up to a tryout with this organization 

Little known fact, but true. 

[Craig Arko]

Wouldn’t this best be a question for Mrs. Castro?

[glunn]

Very creative, fun article.

[stringer bell]

Willi's versatility included both infield and outfield--Kreidler and Clemens both have played multiple games in the outfield and infield. They are choices to be super-utility guys. Clemens is getting playing time commensurate with what Castro got.

[tony&rodney]

One of the knocks a few people have made against Kody Clemens is his age. I just don't see that as any problem whatsoever. He is not going to be around for 10 years. Only Rogers, Caratini, Bell, and Buxton have more than five years from the current active roster (Lopez and Jeffers are on IL). It is unlikely that more than a couple of players in the organization are here in 2036. Currently, Buxton (2012), Lewis and Ober (2017), and Jeffers, Funderburk, Larnach, and Sands (2018) are the longest tenured Twins and that is when they were drafted (not MLB time).

Clemens looks pretty athletic and he may just be coming into his own. No doubt Clemens is on a heater right now and we don't know how the next few months will go for him. I won't be too surprised if he does well and continues to improve. Kody looks hungry. One must consider that despite growing up in a wealthy household, he paid his dues, playing 7 seasons (6 milb plus 1 Covid independent ball) before getting his shot with Minnesota.

[stringer bell]

12 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

One of the knocks a few people have made against Kody Clemens is his age. I just don't see that as any problem whatsoever. He is not going to be around for 10 years. Only Rogers, Caratini, Bell, and Buxton have more than five years from the current active roster (Lopez and Jeffers are on IL). It is unlikely that more than a couple of players in the organization are here in 2036. Currently, Buxton (2012), Lewis and Ober (2017), and Jeffers, Funderburk, Larnach, and Sands (2018) are the longest tenured Twins and that is when they were drafted (not MLB time).

Clemens looks pretty athletic and he may just be coming into his own. No doubt Clemens is on a heater right now and we don't know how the next few months will go for him. I won't be too surprised if he does well and continues to improve. Kody looks hungry. One must consider that despite growing up in a wealthy household, he paid his dues, playing 7 seasons (6 milb plus 1 Covid independent ball) before getting his shot with Minnesota.

Kody Clemens is a really good story and he's a pretty good ballplayer. I would rather he play first base pretty close to full-time, but it appears that Royce Lewis will get a lot of playing time there going forward.

[ashbury]

2 hours ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Little known fact, but true. 

One of the best-known little known facts out there, in fact!

[tony&rodney]

11 minutes ago, stringer bell said:

Kody Clemens is a really good story and he's a pretty good ballplayer. I would rather he play first base pretty close to full-time, but it appears that Royce Lewis will get a lot of playing time there going forward.

True, Kody looks to be a better defender at 1B than Royce. Shelton is in a bit of a tough spot though. Royce hitting needs to play. Bell is the DH when Buck plays. Martin has cratered at the plate and while he has improved mightily in the last year as an outfielder I'm not sure he is better than Clemens in the outfield. In any case the farce of Big Matt is gone in RF. The pitchers are thankful. Shelton is balancing what is on the roster. If one of the AAA outfielders can play good defense and hit, we may see some further moves. But, yah, I too like Kody at first base.

[tarheeltwinsfan]

5 minutes ago, tony&rodney said:

True, Kody looks to be a better defender at 1B than Royce. Shelton is in a bit of a tough spot though. Royce hitting needs to play. Bell is the DH when Buck plays. Martin has cratered at the plate and while he has improved mightily in the last year as an outfielder I'm not sure he is better than Clemens in the outfield. In any case the farce of Big Matt is gone in RF. The pitchers are thankful. Shelton is balancing what is on the roster. If one of the AAA outfielders can play good defense and hit, we may see some further moves. But, yah, I too like Kody at first base.

Roden is hitting well and can field well.  Should he be brought up now?

[tony&rodney]

1 minute ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Roden is hitting well and can field well.  Should he be brought up now?

Doubt the Twins make a move in the outfield until after the All Star break or into August unless there is an injury. 

This may be related to whether the Twins make any trades between now and August 3.

[DocBauer]

Kreidler is the current Castro-ish option simply because he's got a good glove and so far, has produced better offensive numbers at AAA and at the ML level that he's never done previously. 

But if we're really looking at the next Castro,  it's Ben Ross. He's almost a clone of a prospect that took time to figure out how to HIT later in his career, and has POP in his bat, good speed on the base paths, and probably has an even better glove than Castro had. 

[tarheeltwinsfan]

11 hours ago, tony&rodney said:

Doubt the Twins make a move in the outfield until after the All Star break or into August unless there is an injury. 

This may be related to whether the Twins make any trades between now and August 3.

Trade Larnach now and bring up Roden.  This will bring about an immediate improvement for the Twins. Promote Houston to AAA so he can start getting used to better pitchers. Play Culpepper at 2B at St. Paul. 

[tony&rodney]

18 minutes ago, tarheeltwinsfan said:

Trade Larnach now and bring up Roden.  This will bring about an immediate improvement for the Twins. Promote Houston to AAA so he can start getting used to better pitchers. Play Culpepper at 2B at St. Paul. 

Marek Houston is currently at Cedar Rapids, which is A+ ball. A leap to AAA would be quite a challenge since Houston had a difficult period of time getting familiar with A+ ball last year. 2028 would be an aggressive expectation for a Marek Houston promotion to MLB. 

The Twins are almost certainly struggling with how they can tweak the roster, maintain morale, and improve the talent on the team. They have a number of holes, which can be glaring in losses but seem less important after wins. Larnach and Martin have had games where their contributions were really good but it does seem like their long term standing on the roster could be in jeopardy at some point. When is a difficult decision and it is unlikely the team has received any worthwhile offers for either player. Luke Keaschall, as discussed at length elsewhere, also present management with tough judgments. I'm not sure we should expect much change until such time as a few prospects force their way on to the roster with prolonged excellent play while the guys holding positions at the MLB level struggle. Culpepper, Jenkins, Roden, or Rodriguez could be players who arrive by July or August.

[Eris]

I don’t understand the fascination with Willi Castro. He was a well below average defender at every position except 3B and LF. In his career his DRS was  2B (-14) and SS (-24).  I think Nick Punto should be the comparison. 

[David Maro]

The roster as it stands is the problem with players who started the season playing out of position. With Lewis back and being a player without a position he is learning 1st on the fly. Because of his draft status they moved Clemens off 1st where he had played well. And of course Lee was horrible at SS and had to move to 3rd taking Lewis's position away. They now have musical chairs at SS and still a weak defender at 2nd. So as it stands the roster is a lot of Willi.

[Linus]

Clemens is contributing nicely. From a defensive perspective he is clearly the best defender at first and second. Likely the best defender at RF and LF. If they played him at third I bet it wouldn’t be long before he was as good as Lee and Lewis. While I would trade him if someone offered up a good deal, I would have no problem bringing him back. He certainly would solve a roster problem next year.