Castro could be in majors at season's end Let's see if it actually happens but my opinion is that there is absolutely no need to bring up Castro this season for any length of time. He's a converted infielder that needs as much time calling games in the minors as possible. His offense doesn't come close to justifying the move, either. If they end up doing it, it would reek of an effort to bring fans out to MMP in lieu of doing what's best for the player.
On that note, Castro went 2-for-5 tonight with a 2B and a BB (no SOs). Gaston hit his 2nd HR of the season. Martinez 3-for-5 with a 2B and a HR. Just another day at the office for this cat.
Martinez now leads the SAL in OPS and AVG. He's 2nd in SLG and 3rd in OBP. Here's a nice little blog from a guy who has a background in baseball and scouts the SAL: http://scoutingthesally.com/ He had some nice things to say about little Jose Altuve but was disappointed with what he saw in Mier's hitting technique. I posted a link to that a few weeks back. I like the site. The guy isn't a pro scout or anything but he played, coached and did a little scouting. You can read about his background in the About section. Seems like an honest cat with no biases.
I don't know if I agree with keeping him in AAA as what is "best for the player"... when you can offer a guy major league experience in a no pressure situation such as here (where the team is going to be selling off veterans by mid-season, and isn't expected to win). If he does poorly in his stint, he automatically gets a chance to know what he needs to do to improve prior to the start of next season, 2011 (where he was slated to be our everyday starter since draft day). Rather than just staying the entire year at AAA, starting off in the majors next year, doing poorly, and only then figuring out that what worked in AAA doesn't necessarily work in the majors. If he does great in his stint, well, its just providing more confidence to him going into next season. It also will give him a chance to get to know the younger pitchers on this team that are still expected to be a part of this club long-term (Norris, Paulino, Lindstrom), as well as get a chance to pick up some things from the veteran pitchers while they are still here (Oswalt, Wandy, Myers). From all accounts, he is handling pitchers very well at AAA... something that isn't holding him back from coming up here.
As of now, you probably don't throw a rookie catcher behind the plate for Oswalt, Wandy or Myers. Until Oswalt possibly gets traded, those are 3 out of 5 pitchers who probably go with a vet catcher like Quintero or Cash. If he stays at RR, he will get more chances to work on his game behind the plate. He needs as much experience as he can get. He didn't transition to full-time catcher at Standford until his final season. He spent his freshman and sophomore seasons almost entirely at 1B. He spent his entire time in the Cape Cod League playing 1B and OF. That means that he's spent a relatively small number of games between his last year in college and very short pro career playing the position. Guys like Mauer and McCann spent 3 and 4 years in the minors. They came out of high school so they were a lot younger but they were both given a lot of time in the pro ranks to work on their overall games before getting called up to the majors. Plus, Bennett said this in the linked article above: “He's calling a better game; that still needs to improve.” I don't think it's clear that he's ready to call games at the next level. It might even be one area that it is holding him back among other things. I don't know. I haven't heard a lot about him in that respect, good or bad. As Bennett said, he still needs to improve in that area. The most important part of a catcher's job description is handling his position and calling games and Castro just doesn't have a lot of experience doing that over the last 4 or 5 years. On top of that, his offensive struggles in a hitter-friendly PCL are another sign that he's not ready. Towles was way ahead of him offensively at a similar point in his career and they both have sort of slow, deliberate swings. Towles just never seemed to be able to catch up to ML pitching. Castro is tall and had a pretty lanky frame last I saw him. He is probably still filling out more than some others his age. I'm sure he could stand to continue adding muscle which should help him out in every respect.
This is the 2nd time today I've heard he's a converted IF. I thought he was a catcher at Stanford, and also a C in the Cape Cod league. Did he play IF in college before moving to C?
He played 1B almost exclusively in his first 2 years at Standford before making the transition to catcher in his final year as a junior. He played 1B and OF for his entire time in the Cape Cod League between his junior and senior seasons to make room for Buster Posey. I believe he was primarily a catcher up through HS so it is his most natural position. Still, it's a tough position and between college and his short pro career, he hasn't had a whole lot of time to hone his skills. I just see no good reason to call him up this season. There is no rush. Let him spend at least the rest of this season and early next season (with winter ball in between) getting more seasoning and working on his overall game. I understand Nick's points but it just seems like it would be better to wait until at least the start of next season, if not longer, to bring him up. If they call up for more than maybe a handful of games very late in the season, I can't think of any better explanation for the move than them trying to draw fans to MMP.
IDK, I think there is some value in having him come up this year (late) and letting him work out the butterflies of being in the big leagues a little bit, that way he's not having to deal with everything at the start of next season. I do understand your points too though.
Maybe call him up at the very end of the season like they did with Towles in 2007 but that's about it. At least until some trades go down, you can't expect a rookie to come in and call games for guys like Oswalt, Wandy and Myers. Even with Norris and Paulino, who are doing everything just to keep their spots in the rotation, you don't want to take away any chemistry they develop with Q and Cash and disrupt their progress. If I recall correctly, the Giants brought up Posey for a few games at the very end of last season and he barely did any catching, mostly coming in to pinch hit. That would be the most I would do with Castro this season. That would help him get his feet wet while allowing him to catch regularly until the end of the RR season.
I suspect that some in the Astros organization want Castro to be the opening day starter next season. I would not be surprised to see Castro called up before September and then made the everyday catcher. Calling Castro up will not affect the Juice Box gate or get the Astros any closer to the playoffs, this season or next. The reason to call him up is for player development. The sooner he catches and hits major league pitching, the better.
With expanded rosters, that certainly seems reasonable. Of course, by the end of the season, some of the pitchers he's catching at RR could be called up too. That could help with your chemistry concerns.
Bennett said that Castro is likely at least a couple of months away. He said that he still needs work calling games. It's obvious that he still needs a lot of work with his bat. He still making mechanical changes to adjust to AAA pitching due to his struggles. If I had to guess based on all those facts and the fact that catchers almost never just jump in late in the season for any team and become the everyday starter, they'll let him finish the full season at RR then use him sparingly down the stretch like the Giants did with Posey last season and we did with Towles in 2007. I have no evidence off hand but my guess would be that some people will buy tickets just to catch a glimpse of the organization's top prospect. It would make me think about buying tickets.
I agree. Its not like Castro is some phenom pitcher that will draw 3-5,000 walkup fans a game. Frankly, I doubt most current Astro season ticket holders really know who Jason Castro is. I am a big proponent of getting guys as much big league exposure as possible once they reach a certain age. Towles looked money in the minors, but the more you see him in the majors, you realize that his deficiencies are substantial... if Castro has the potential to bust as well, the Astros would want to know that sooner rather than later. Also, I feel pitchers are the ones who can get "ruined" easier by rushing them up sooner rather than position players. Younger pitchers who aren't really ready are the ones who come up, overcompensate, and end up getting injured or having their confidence completely shattered. Position players, especially catchers, need as much exposure as possible before you can determine whether or not they'll sink or swim. If you can get a young catcher or any position player a good chunk of exposure without the pressures of a playoff race, as well as without stepping on too many people's toes (in this case, the Astros have zero veteran catchers that they are hanging on to long-term)... I think it can be very beneficial.
Personally, as far as Castro's concerned, I want him to stay at RR until he's absolutely ready. More than anything else, there's simply no reason to start his arbitration/FA clock so early unless he's simply ready. The Astros aren't going anywhere. Whether we have Quintero or Castro or a piece of rock back there really makes no difference from an on-the-field standpoint. So the only reason to bring up Castro is for his benefit to develop as a player.
Who is he going to catch for? Which pitcher is going to have to make that adjustment after working with another catcher for the majority of the season? If we are assuming there will be a lot of changes to the pitching staff by then, that's one thing, but even in that case, we need to see how things shake out before we can determine Castro's fit (not even factoring in whether Castro himself is ready). For all we know at this point, there won't be any significant changes to the rotation. After pitcher, catcher is the hardest position to adjust to at the major league level. Castro caught regularly for only 1 year at Stanford, which is obviously a short season, and has approx. 1 year catching at the pro level. Almost every major league catcher spent several years in the minors before making the jump, including most elite catchers. You don't want to rush a catcher for a lot of reasons, the most important being that they have to be able to handle a major league pitching staff. Buster Posey is an infinitely better hitting prospect than Castro and he's already a much better hitter than Bengie Molina but he still needs work calling games. In addition to extending their control over him, the Giants know how difficult and important it is to catch for the likes of Lincecum, Cain, etc... Even if they weren't supposedly contenders, the Giants have made it known that Posey is still getting work behind the plate to prepare for the next level. He needs it and so does Castro.
And I suspect that most Astros fans, STH or not, know who Jason Castro is. Without knowing it for a fact, I would also imagine that an organization calling up its top prospect will sell a few more tickets, even in a lost season. Even if I'm totally off base on that point, based on what Bennett said and reports out of RR, I still don't think that Castro should get anything more than a handful of games after the end of the RR season and even then, in a limited role, similar to what Towles did in 2007.
The Giants are a bonafied playoff contender, as they were last year. I understand why they don't want a rookie catcher out there, even if he can hit. If catching is the hardest position to adjust to at the MLB level, wouldn't you want to give that player some extra exposure when possible? If its so hard, we can presume that 4 more full months in the minors likely won't be enough to fully prepare him for the adjustment anyways. Hadnling minor league pitchers is NOTHING like handling major league pitchers... and with our system, the pitchers he is catching at AAA right now are likely not going to be MLB starters. I'm not saying to call him up today... but I am saying that giving him exposure before the end of the season will do more good than harm, long-term.
