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Luis Castillo (pitcher, born 1992)

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Not to be confused with Luis Castillo (pitcher, born 1995). For other people named Luis Castillo, see Luis Castillo.

Luis Castillo
Castillo with the Cincinnati Reds
Seattle Mariners – No. 58
Pitcher
Born: (1992-12-12) December 12, 1992 (age 31)
Baní, Dominican Republic
Bats: Right
Throws: Right
MLB debut
June 23, 2017, for the Cincinnati Reds
MLB statistics
(through 2024 season)
Win–loss record73–76
Earned run average3.56
Strikeouts1,331
Stats at Baseball Reference Edit this at Wikidata
Teams
Career highlights and awards

Luis Miguel Castillo (born December 12, 1992) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher for the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB). He made his MLB debut in 2017 with the Cincinnati Reds. Castillo is a three-time All-Star.

Professional career

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San Francisco Giants

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Castillo signed with the San Francisco Giants as an international free agent in December 2011. Castillo only pitched as a reliever in the Giants' farm system. He made his professional debut in 2012 with the DSL Giants, going 1–3 with a 3.31 ERA in 54+1⁄3 innings pitched. In 2013, he returned there, going 0–1 with a 0.64 ERA in 27 appearances. In 2014, he came to the United States, pitching for the Augusta GreenJackets where he had a 2–2 record and 3.07 ERA in 48 appearances.[1]

Miami Marlins

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On December 20, 2014, Castillo and Kendry Flores were traded to the Miami Marlins for Casey McGehee.[2] Castillo started 2015 with the Greensboro Grasshoppers and was promoted to the Jupiter Hammerheads in July. In 35 games, 16 of them starts, with the two teams, he was 6–6 with a 3.20 ERA.

Castillo began 2016 with Jupiter and was promoted to the Jacksonville Suns in August. In 26 games, only two of them in relief, between Jupiter and Jacksonville, he was 8–6 with a 2.26 ERA.[1] The Marlins added Castillo to their 40-man roster after the season.[3]

San Diego Padres

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Castillo was part of a scuttled trade that briefly made him a member of the San Diego Padres organization in the summer of 2016. On July 29, the Marlins traded Castillo along with Jarred Cosart, Josh Naylor, and Carter Capps to the Padres for pitchers Andrew Cashner, Colin Rea, and Tayron Guerrero.[4][5] However, Castillo returned to Marlins two days later, after Rea exited his first start as a Marlin with an elbow injury and was sent back to the Padres.[6] Castillo never pitched in the Padres organization.[1]

Cincinnati Reds

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On January 19, 2017, the Marlins traded Castillo, Austin Brice, and Isaiah White to the Cincinnati Reds for starter Dan Straily.[7] Castillo began 2017 with the Pensacola Blue Wahoos. In 14 starts in Double-A, he had a 4–4 record and 2.58 ERA.[8]

On June 23, 2017, the Reds promoted Castillo, who made his MLB debut against the Washington Nationals.[9] Castillo pitched for the Reds the rest of the season, going 3–7 with a 3.12 ERA in 15 starts. He returned to Cincinnati's starting rotation in 2018: in 31 starts, he posted a record of 10–12 with an ERA of 4.30 in 169+2⁄3 innings.

Luis Castillo waving before the 2019 All-Star Game
Castillo before the 2019 All-Star Game

On March 19, 2019, Castillo was named the Reds' Opening Day starter.[10] He was named the National League Pitcher of the Month for April.[11] He set career highs with 15 wins, 226 strikeouts, and 79 walks in 2019, posting a 3.40 ERA in 190+2⁄3 innings.[12] He was named to his first All-Star Game, where he pitched a clean inning, striking out Carlos Santana and J.D. Martinez.[13]

In the abbreviated 2020 season, Castillo had a 4–6 record and a 3.21 ERA with 89 strikeouts in 70 innings of work.[14] He started Game 2 of the Wild Card Series, picking up the loss against the Atlanta Braves after allowing one run in five innings in his postseason debut.[15]

In 2021, Castillo recorded a 3.98 ERA with 192 strikeouts in 187+2⁄3 innings over 33 starts. He tied for the MLB lead with 16 losses and led the NL with 75 walks. He induced the most groundballs of all major league pitchers.[16]

On March 22, 2022, Castillo signed a $7.35 million contract with the Reds, avoiding salary arbitration.[17] He missed the first month of 2022 and started the year with a 4–4 record and 2.86 ERA in 14 starts with the Reds.[18] He was the Reds' lone selection to the All-Star Game,[19] where he struck out two batters and allowed a single in an inning of work.[20]

Seattle Mariners

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On July 29, 2022, the Reds traded Castillo to the Seattle Mariners in exchange for prospects Noelvi Marte, Edwin Arroyo, Andrew Moore, and Levi Stoudt.[21][22] On September 24, Castillo signed a five-year, $108 million contract with a sixth-year option.[23]

Castillo had a 3.19 ERA in 11 starts with Seattle in 2022. He helped the Mariners end their 21-year playoff drought. In Game 1 of the Wild Card Series, he threw 7+1⁄3 scoreless innings, striking out 5 and allowing 6 hits in a 4–0 Mariners win.[24] Castillo was the first Mariners starter to pitch at least 7 innings in the postseason without allowing a run.[25] He started Game 2 of the American League Division Series and continued his scoreless postseason streak until allowing a two-run home run to Yordan Alvarez in the sixth inning and picking up the loss against the Houston Astros.[26][27]

Castillo started on Opening Day in 2023, earning a win over the Cleveland Guardians after throwing six scoreless innings. Castillo had an ERA of 2.84 after three months[28] and was named to his third All-Star Game, though he sat out the Midsummer Classic in Seattle.[29] He faded slightly in the second half, finishing the year with a 14–9 record and 3.34 ERA, with 219 strikeouts in 197 innings.[28] He finished fifth in American League Cy Young Award voting and had the fifth lowest ERA in the league.[30][31]

Castillo was the Mariners Opening Day starter again in 2024, this time losing to the Boston Red Sox. After a rough first three starts, in which he gave up four earned runs in each outing and could not finish the sixth inning, Castillo returned to form the rest of the season, posting a 3.33 ERA after April 8, nearly matching his 2023 run prevention rate. His season ended early,[32] with a hamstring injury sending him to the injured list on September 10.[33][34] In 2024, he was 11–12 with a 3.64 ERA and 175 strikeouts in 175+1⁄3 innings pitched.[32]

Pitching style

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Castillo pitches from a low arm slot, with his arm angle lower over the course of his career.[35] Early in his career, he combined a good changeup to go along with a fastball that averaged between 95 and 97 miles per hour and a slider.[36][37] In 2019, he had the most valuable changeup in baseball.[38] He used four-seam fastballs and sliders against left-handers, while using two-seamers and changeups against right-handers as strikeout pitches.[39]

Over time, Castillo's changeup became less effective and less used.[40] While his changeup was his most frequently thrown pitch from 2019 to 2021, thrown at least 30 percent of the time each season, he relied more on his fastball starting in 2022, increasing his fastball usage from 29 percent in 2021 to 45 percent in 2024. He had one of the 10 most valuable fastballs in each season from 2022 to 2024.[41][42][43] His changeup dropped to his fourth most frequent pitch, thrown only 14 percent of the time in 2024.[35]

Since joining the Mariners in 2022, Castillo has also limited his walks. He walked 8.8 percent of batters faced in his first five seasons with the Reds, leading the league in walks in 2021, but reduced his walk rate to 6.8 percent in his first two full seasons in Seattle.[44]

Personal life

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Castillo and his wife Elanyi have two daughters.[45][46] He enjoys fishing.[45][47]

Castillo's baseball idol was Pedro Martínez,[48] who gave him advice on throwing a changeup.[49][50]

Castillo is nicknamed "La Piedra" (Spanish for "The Rock.")[45][49] He dressed up as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for a Mariners television commercial in 2024.[51]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Luis Castillo Minor Leagues Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  2. ^ "Giants fill Sandoval hole, trade for McGehee". ESPN. Associated Press. December 19, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  3. ^ Frisaro, Joe (November 18, 2016). "Marlins add 4 to 40-man roster". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Archived from the original on November 19, 2016. Retrieved September 26, 2017.
  4. ^ Lin, Dennis (July 29, 2016). "Padres trade Cashner, Rea to Marlins in 7-player deal". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  5. ^ "Marlins get Andrew Cashner, Colin Rea from Padres for prospects". ESPN. July 29, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2016.
  6. ^ "Marlins Trade Colin Rea Back To Padres Following Elbow Injury". MLB Trade Rumors. August 1, 2016. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  7. ^ Frisaro, Joe (January 19, 2017). "Marlins get right-hander Dan Straily from Reds". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved June 21, 2017.
  8. ^ "Luis Castillo Stats, Highlights, Bio". MiLB.com. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
  9. ^ Rosecrans, C. Trent (June 21, 2017). "Reds' Luis Castillo to make big-league debut Friday". cincinnati.com. The Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved June 22, 2017.
  10. ^ Sheldon, Mark (March 19, 2019). "Castillo gets call on Opening Day for Reds". MLB.com. Major League Baseball. Retrieved March 19, 2019.
  11. ^ "Castillo talks NL pitcher of the month honors". MLB.com. May 3, 2019. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  12. ^ "Luis Castillo Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  13. ^ Cincinnati Reds (July 9, 2021). Luis Castillo's full inning from the 2019 All-Star Game (Television production). Fox Sports. Retrieved November 18, 2024 – via YouTube.
  14. ^ "Are the Reds seeing a new and improved Luis Castillo?". September 14, 2020.
  15. ^ "2020 National League Wild Card Series (NLWC) Game 2, Cincinnati Reds vs Atlanta Braves: October 1, 2020". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  16. ^ "Major League Leaderboards » 2021 » Pitchers » Dashboard". FanGraphs.
  17. ^ "Arbitration Tracker For 2022". MLBTradeRumors. Retrieved March 23, 2022.
  18. ^ "Luis Castillo 2022 Pitching Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  19. ^ Wallner, Jeff (July 11, 2022). "Reds' ace Castillo earns 2nd All-Star nod". MLB.com. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  20. ^ "Luis Castillo fans in the All-Star Game | 07/19/2022". MLB.com. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  21. ^ "MLB trade deadline". The Athletic. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  22. ^ Casella, Paul. "Mariners acquire Castillo, top pitcher on market". MLB.com.
  23. ^ Kramer, Daniel (September 24, 2022). "Luis Castillo, Mariners agree to 5-year extension". MLB.com. Retrieved September 29, 2022.
  24. ^ "Castillo sharp, Mariners blank Jays 4-0 in wild-card opener". ESPN. Archived from the original on October 8, 2022. Retrieved July 30, 2022.
  25. ^ "Mariners Pitchers One Postseason Start 7 Innings Allowing No Runs". StatMuse. Retrieved November 16, 2024.
  26. ^ Matheson, Keegan (October 15, 2022). "Castillo's Game 2 heat doused by a bloop and a blast". MLB.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  27. ^ "2022 American League Division Series (ALDS) Game 2, Seattle Mariners vs Houston Astros: October 13, 2022". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  28. ^ a b "Luis Castillo 2023 Pitching Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  29. ^ "How every player performed on All-Star stage". MLB.com. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  30. ^ "Here are the Cy Young Award vote totals". MLB.com. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  31. ^ "Major League Leaderboards - 2023 - Pitching". FanGraphs Baseball. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  32. ^ a b "Luis Castillo 2024 Pitching Game Logs". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  33. ^ Divish, Ryan (September 10, 2024). "Mariners starting pitcher Luis Castillo lands on 15-day injured list". The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on September 11, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  34. ^ "Luis Castillo discusses his hamstring injury". MLB.com. September 8, 2024. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  35. ^ a b "Luis Castillo Stats: Statcast, Visuals & Advanced Metrics". baseballsavant.com. Retrieved November 17, 2024.
  36. ^ "Luis Castillo - Stats - Pitching - Pitch Type Velo". FanGraphs Baseball. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  37. ^ Watt, Rian (September 16, 2019). "Luis Castillo's Increasingly Lethal Changeup". fangraphs.com. FanGraphs. Retrieved December 8, 2019.
  38. ^ "Major League Leaderboards - 2019 - Pitching". FanGraphs Baseball. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  39. ^ 五度, 生啤C (December 29, 2019). "Can the 3 starting pitchers of Cincinnati Reds make it to the playoffs in 2020?". YouTube (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  40. ^ Ajeto, Mikey (December 28, 2023). "Best of BP: Luis Castillo's Disappearing Changeup". Baseball Prospectus. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  41. ^ "Statcast Pitch Arsenal Stats 2022". baseballsavant.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  42. ^ "Statcast Pitch Arsenal Stats 2023". baseballsavant.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  43. ^ "Statcast Pitch Arsenal Stats 2024". baseballsavant.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  44. ^ "Luis Castillo Pitching Stats". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  45. ^ a b c "Luis Castillo Stats, Age, Position, Height, Weight, Fantasy & News". MLB.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  46. ^ Castillo, Luis [@luis58castillo] (May 8, 2022). "Le doy gracias a dios por aber puesto esta bella dama en mi vida. Una persona hermosa bella. Una madre ejemplar. Dios te bendiga mi bella esposa. Te amo amor 😘😘😘" [I thank God for having placed this beautiful lady in my life. A beautiful beautiful person. An exemplary mother. God bless you my beautiful wife. I love you love 😘😘😘] (in Spanish) – via Instagram.
  47. ^ Castillo, Luis [@luis58castillo] (August 29, 2021). https://www.instagram.com/p/CTKaxjdgcgf/ – via Instagram. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  48. ^ "Luis Castillo on what player he looked up to as a kid". MLB.com. March 15, 2021. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  49. ^ a b Jude, Adam (October 6, 2022). "What makes Mariners pitcher Luis Castillo so rock solid on the mound". The Spokesman-Review. The Seattle Times. Archived from the original on November 18, 2024. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  50. ^ Nightengale, Bobby. "The next Pedro Martinez? Pedro says Cincinnati Reds' Luis Castillo pitches just like he did". Cincinnati Enquirer. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
  51. ^ Kramer, Daniel. "Mariners commercials are back! The how & why". MLB.com. Retrieved November 18, 2024.
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