Adrian Del Castillo is a prospect the Arizona Diamondbacks know is a hitter. His ability to improve as a catcher and thrower will determine his future.
“Great kid,” manager Torey Lovullo said. “Wants to get better, is open to learning and we have seen so much improvement. He has a lot of good qualities.”
The 24-year-old displayed all of the good, the bad and the ugly in a 25-game stretch when called up to the majors last season after starting catcher Gabriel Moreno was injured.
The good: Del Castillo hit .313 with 4 homers and 19 RBI.
The bad: He made three errors in 24 games behind the plate.
The ugly: He threw out only 2 of 27 base stealers, a paltry 7%.
By comparison, Moreno nailed runners 29% of the time. In 2023, he led the NL by gunning down 39%. An unfair comparison, to be sure. It isn’t unfair to say it gives Del Castillo something to strive for and more importantly learn from one of the best on a daily basis.
The Diamondbacks have long been aware of Del Castillo’s pluses and minuses. They liked the good in 2021 and made the 5-10, 208-pound lefty hitter a second-round pick (No. 67 overall) from Miami, FL., where he hit .311 with 124 RBI in 131 college games.
They knew he started out in college as an outfielder and was a project at catcher. That was evident when he had 6 errors and 6 passed balls in his first 18 games as a pro after signing for $1 million.
Upon being called up last summer, Diamondbacks Farm Director Shaun Larkin (now third-base coach) gave Del Castillo a passing grade.
“His receiving has been much better, he’s receiving the ball really well, well above average,” Larkin said. “The blocking has been better. The throwing is something he’s working on. Whether it’s his pure arm strength, his accuracy, his transfer times, and putting himself in a better position to throw, he’s working on all those things. It’s been diligent work, and it’s getting better.”
Stats support Larkin’s view. At Triple-A Reno before the callup, Del Castillo threw out 21% (19 of 90) base stealers and had only 5 errors in 551 chances. Potential was showing progress. The MLB average rate for throwing out runners in 2024 was 22%.
He also walloped 26 homers with a .311 batting average in 105 games. No surprise that he is listed as Arizona’s No. 4 prospect by MLB Pipeline.
Strong Start
Del Castillo went 7-for-12 (.583) in his first three MLB games last August including a memorable walk-off homer in his second game.
Lovullo may have been the most excited of anybody following the 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies.
“I get so excited for the kids that come up through our player development,” Lovullo said. “I felt like I was 18 years old again for a few minutes. And that’s always a nice feeling. And I think everyone felt that for Adrian.
“It was a special moment for him. He hits his first Major League home run. It’s a walk-off in a pennant race, and it doesn’t get any better. I couldn’t help but get caught up in the emotion of it.”
Del Castillo naturally was delighted. He told Cole Bradley of Sports Illustrated: “I don’t even know how to describe it in words. Just sick. Goosebumps.”
The night before, Del Castillo got his first MLB hit, an RBI double off Cleveland Guardians veteran Carlos Carrasco.
Not As Bad As …
Some catchers really struggle to throw. Others are great. Rod Barajas became both. Over the first 10 years of his career (1999-2009), he tossed out 34% of baserunners. At age 36 in 2012, however, he allowed an astounding 93 steals in 99 attempts (94%) in only 99 games.
Mackey Sasser was a good hitter who threw out an average of 29% of basestealers in 1989-91 for the New York Mets. Suddenly, he developed a phobia of simply throwing the ball back to the pitcher, let alone firing to second base. It got so bad that after catching a ball, he would toss it to the third baseman to relay back to the pitcher.
The NL did not use the DH back then. Sasser moved to first base and the outfield, but the mental fatigue affected his hitting and his once-promising career became a shambles.
This Spring
Del Castillo is really working on improving his release time in popping out from his crouch and throwing to second. He has done it so often that his arm got tired and he was relagated to DH duties for awhile. That also gave Lovullo a good look at how the youngster handled a role in which he may be used quite often.
Back at catcher on Tuesday, the Kansas City Royals knew Del Castillo’s reputation and tested it. You might say the kid wasn’t half bad. He went 2-for-4 nailing base stealers. He got Maikel Garcia and Michael Massey with Merrill Kelly on the mound. With Brandon Pfaadt pitching, Kyle Isbel and Tyler Tolbert each stole second.
Adrian Del Castillo should provide pop at the plate and be able to give Moreno a rest against tough right-handed pitchers. Together, they should be a strong point.