José Castillo

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For the Spanish historical figure, see José Castillo (Spanish Civil War).

**José Castillo**

Pittsburgh Pirates — No. 14
Second baseman
Bats: Right	Throws: Right
Major League Baseball debut
April 7, 2004 for the Pittsburgh Pirates
Selected MLB statistics (through June 8, 2006)
BA	.270
HR	27
RBI	124
Games played	286

José Castillo (IPA: [xoˈse kasˈt̪ijo]; born March 19, 1981 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a second baseman in Major League Baseball who has played for the Pittsburgh Pirates since 2004. He bats and throws right handed. Castillo and his partner, shortstop Jack Wilson, are both considered excellent defensive infielders, and have turned more defensive double plays than all but a handful of duos in their time together. [1][2]

1 Early career
2 2004
3 2005
4 2006
5 2007
6 See also
7 External links

[edit] Early career

Castillo was named the fourth-best prospect by Baseball America following the 2003 season, and he also ranked as the top Pittsburgh prospect by USA Today Sports Weekly.

In 2003, Castillo was both the starting shortstop for the World Team in Major League Baseball's All-Star Futures Game and an All-Star in the AA Eastern League. He also played winter ball in Venezuela with the Leones del Caracas team, hitting .255 (49-for-192) with five home runs and 28 RBI in 53 games.

[edit] 2004

In his rookie season Castillo impressed the Pirates front office with his defensive play. In the field he displayed good range and a very strong arm in 2004, even better than the Pirates expected from a former shortstop. At the plate, however, his play was more typical of a 22-year-old who had never played in Triple-A. Except for hot streaks in April and August, Castillo did not hit for average or power and was not very selective at the plate, striking out with regularity (if not quite as often as some of his teammates) and walking very little despite hitting in front of the pitcher for most of the season. However, his power potential was apparent from the fact that the majority of his extra base hits and home runs were hit the opposite way -- including a 445-foot blast to center field on July 5, 2004 at cavernous Pro Player Stadium -- and his minor league statistics indicate that his plate discipline should improve. He finished with eight home runs, 39 RBI and a .256 average, despite missing two months on the disabled list. Because of his defense and high ceiling, he entered 2005 as the Pirates' starting second baseman.

[edit] 2005

2005 was a trying season for Castillo. He was on the disabled list for most of April with a strained left oblique muscle. In late August, he tore the medial collateral ligament in his left knee during a game against the St. Louis Cardinals and missed the rest of the season.

Despite the injuries, Castillo showed progress both defensively and at the plate when he did play. In the field he and shortstop Jack Wilson were largely responsible for the Pirates turning more double plays than any National League team except the St. Louis Cardinals. At the same time, Castillo hit .268 with 11 homers and 53 RBI, significantly improving his power production while cutting down heavily on his strikeouts (from 92 in 383 at-bats in 2004 to 59 in 370 at-bats in 2005). The Pirates expect Castillo to be 100% for the start of spring training in February 2006, though he was not able to play winter ball in his native Venezuela.

[edit] 2006

Castillo has been the Pirates' starting second baseman in almost every game in 2006. After a slow April, Castillo was among the best hitters in all of the majors in May, culminating in his "Player of the Week" award for the last week in May, during which he lead the NL in RBI, total bases, slugging percentage, and home runs.[3]

But after a promising start, Castillo has struggled down the stretch of the 2006 season. In the 92 games since homering 7 times in a two week span in May, Castillo has only 6 home runs. He snapped an 0-23 hitting slump on September 23rd against the Padres, but had been benched for three consecutive games before that. As of September 24th his batting average had fallen to .257. His signature excellent defense has also been missing at times in 2006, he has committed a team high 18 errors as of September 24th.

Castillo finished September batting only .087 for the month and did not start in several games.

He finished the 2006 season with a .253 batting average to go along with 14 home runs, 65 RBIs, 131 hits, and 25 doubles.

Despite rumors he might be traded in the offseasonPittsburgh Post Gazette, the Pirates elected to keep Castillo. With the emergence of infielders Freddy Sanchez and Jose Bautista, Castillo will enter spring training with his role on the team uncertain.

[edit] 2007

On March 23, the Pirates announced that Jose Bautista would start the season as the team's starting third baseman, meaning Castillo would start the season as a utility bench player. Though with Freddy Sanchez nursing an injury, it is possible Castillo will start at second base in the opening series. Post-Gazette