How good has Welington Castillo been for the D-backs?
Aug 6, 2015, 9:25 AM | Updated: 2:30 pm
When the Arizona Diamondbacks traded for catcher Welington Castillo from Seattle in early June, there wasn’t a whole lot of fanfare surrounding the move.
And why should there have been?
Castillo had already served as a backup catcher for two organizations in 2015, sitting behind Miguel Montero with the Chicago Cubs before spending about three weeks backing up Mike Zunino with the Seattle Mariners.
And, the D-backs were making the move out of necessity. Starting catcher Tuffy Gosewisch suffered a torn ACL and would miss the rest of the season.
But since arriving in Arizona, not only has Castillo been a pleasant surprise, he’s been one of Arizona’s best players and among the most productive catchers in baseball since the trade.
“Beef”, as he’s known to teammates and fans, ranks in the top five catchers in the big leagues in runs scored, RBI and batting average since June 5 (his D-backs debut) and leads all backstops in home runs (11), slugging percentage (.614) and OPS (.998).
To put that in perspective, San Francisco Giants catcher Buster Posey, a viable National League MVP candidate, has an OPS (on-base plus slugging) of .990.
He’s also been decent defensively, registering a .993 fielding percentage while throwing out 20 percent (3-of-15) potential base stealers.
Castillo has been outstanding on Arizona’s current road trip, which wraps up Thursday afternoon in Washington. The 28-year-old is hitting .393 (11-for-28) with nine runs scored, six home runs and nine RBI, while posting a .485 on-base percentage and a 1.592 OPS.
Wednesday night’s winning pitcher, Rubby De La Rosa, summed it up pretty succinctly.
“He is very hot right now,” he said.
Yes, he is.
Welington Castillo’s Red-hot Two Months
Home Runs
1. Welington Castillo, Arizona – 11
2. Salvador Perez, Kansas City – 10
2. Yasmani Grandal, LA Dodgers – 10
4. Russell Martin, Toronto – 8
4. Buster Posey, San Francisco – 8
RBI
1. Buster Posey, San Francisco – 46
2. Brian McCann, NY Yankees – 32
3. Russell Martin, Toronto – 25
4. Welington Castillo, Arizona – 24
4. Jonathan Lucroy, Milwaukee – 24
Batting Average
1. Buster Posey, San Francisco – .379
2. A.J. Pierzynski, Atlanta – .327
3. Nick Hundley, Colorado – .308
4. Yasmani Grandal, LA Dodgers – .304
5. Welington Castillo, Arizona – .295
Slugging Percentage
1. Welington Castillo, Arizona – .614
2. Buster Posey, San Francisco – .571
3. Yasmani Grandal, LA Dodgers – .563
4. Brian McCann, NY Yankees – .500
5. Nick Hundley, Colorado – .473
OPS
1. Welington Castillo, Arizona – .998
2. Buster Posey, San Francisco – .990
3. Yasmani Grandal, LA Dodgers – .964
4. Brian McCann, NY Yankees – .833
5. Nick Hundley, Colorado – .828
