Prospect Insider (Jason Churchill) Quick Blurb and Vid on Starlin Castro

Really not that much, a short vid clip of Castro fielding in AFL and a quick comment on him as a potential top 25-40 prospect in all of baseball. Churchill's lavished high praise on Castro. Just something to look at.

over 2 years ago toonsterwu 11 comments 1 recs |

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Perhaps this is just my inner skeptic

but I’m getting the feeling that Castro might not be as young as we think. I don’t have any solid evidence of this, just that the way he has gone through such a smooth transition each step-up and his rise through the system makes me think we might find a second birth certificate a few years down the line.

I’m sure I’m wrong, but for some reason I can’t shake the feeling that something has to give here.

Just say no to players named Aaron on the Cubs.

by nji232 on Nov 3, 2009 8:49 AM CST reply actions

even if he is

and there hasn’t been any evidence to suggest that, but even if he is, if it’s only be a year or two, he’s still very intriguing.

On “looks”, he looks young. That said, Michael J. Fox always looks young.

by toonsterwu on Nov 3, 2009 9:23 AM CST up reply actions

I'm not saying he is for sure

Just something that popped into my head. I get a Rafael Furcal vibe from Castro, which is what led me to think that.

Just say no to players named Aaron on the Cubs.

by nji232 on Nov 3, 2009 9:31 AM CST up reply actions

nah

he looks more 16 or 17 in person than say 21 or 22. And the way he interacts with his teammates is more “kid” than say college junior/senior. It would be safe to say, his age is legit.

by socalbob on Nov 3, 2009 1:51 PM CST up reply actions

I think that having a prospect this good

at a position we have dire need to have a good prospect at makes it hard for Cub fans to believe since we are used to our position prospects failing. But it’s cool to think that in 3 years our IF may be good and all homegrown except for Aramis Ramirez.

Inspector #23 certifies that the above post is sarcasm free, most certainly not what she said, and chock full of intangibles, although regressing to the intangible mean, as you'd expect.

by DGU on Nov 3, 2009 1:53 PM CST up reply actions

I liked this quote

Castro is a superb athlete who outran the camera several times, rendering most of the footage useless!

by jerry morales rules on Nov 3, 2009 9:33 AM CST reply actions

Nice to see the video.

And for anyone who hasn’t heard:

@CarrieMuskat: #Cubs prospects Castro, Vitters, Cashner & Parker selected to AFL Rising Stars team for Sat. game. MLB Network will air.

Catch my act on Twitter as @dat_cubfan_dave.

by daver on Nov 3, 2009 10:16 AM CST reply actions

on my recent trip to AZ

I stopped off to see Castro. He is the real deal. He oozes confidence, professionalism—kinda like Jeter. He stands out when watching. He looks younger than 19 as well. Has a playful and cheerful demeanor with his teammates.

He has a short compact swing and stays level. His balls carry well to the the right-center gap—meaning he’s not slicing the ball or cutting across it, but rather squaring it up and driving it to RF. Has quick hands and stays behind the ball not jumping out on his front foot. His bat speed is excellent.

He is stretching to reach the listed 6’1". He is a burner in the mold of Jose Reyes type of strides. Quick feet so I would bet him to be around 4.0 to 1B as he would reach top speed quickly.

Soft hands in the field and a very strong arm—no Dunston or Furcal, but certainly a cannon in his own right. He doesn’t throw to the 1B, he throws through the 1B. I’d personally like to see him get on top off the ball a little more, but that’s splitting hairs at this point.

Young Barry Larkin is what crossed my mind. Maybe not that many SB’s, but hitting and fielding similar. I’d be shocked if he isn’t the 2011 ROY and named one of the Top 10 prospect in all of baseball after next season. We have a gem here, folks.

His tools, his performance and his ARL status would jump him into the B+/A- category today, for me.

by socalbob on Nov 3, 2009 6:22 PM CST reply actions 1 recs

when i saw him

the one thing i wasn’t too fond of is that, while he was balanced, he reached for some balls. That said, I’m hoping age and experience will make improvements there happen. After all, he went from a bunch of guys who won’t make the upper levels of the minors (playing in AZL) to A+/AA.

by toonsterwu on Nov 3, 2009 8:30 PM CST up reply actions

I didn't see game action

was your viewing in a game? I could see that and that is easily correctable as he matures.

He waited back nicely in BP. I really like his apporach because it was a conscious effort at working on his swing, not just hacking at BP pitches.

by socalbob on Nov 4, 2009 3:03 PM CST up reply actions

rec'd

awesome

Inspector #23 certifies that the above post is sarcasm free, most certainly not what she said, and chock full of intangibles, although regressing to the intangible mean, as you'd expect.

by DGU on Nov 4, 2009 12:03 PM CST up reply actions