Starlin Castro
From BR Bullpen
Starlin DeJesus Castro
- Bats Right, Throws Right
- Height 6' 1", Weight 160 lb.
- Born March 24, 1990 in Monte Cristi, Monte Cristi D.R.
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[edit] Biographical Information
Starlin Castro had one of the most notable MLB debut games ever.
Castro was signed by scout Jose Serra for the Chicago Cubs in October 2006. In 2007, he hit .299/.371/.371 for the DSL Cubs with 13 steals in 15 tries and 47 runs in 60 games. The next year, Castro batted .311/.364/.464 for the AZL Cubs while splitting time between second base and shortstop; Baseball America rated him the #14 prospect in the Arizona League and #7 Cubs prospect.
Castro hit .302/.340/.391 with 22 steals in 33 tries for the 2009 Daytona Cubs and .288/.347/.396 in 31 games for the Tennessee Smokies. He finished third in the Florida State League in average, behind Logan Schafer and Ben Revere, and was named the FSL All-Star shortstop. He was rated the league's #6 prospect by Baseball America, between Kyle Drabek and Jenrry Mejia. He played in the 2009 Futures Game, backing up Wilmer Flores at second base for the World team. In his lone at-bat, he singled off Trevor Reckling and scored on a hit by Alcides Escobar.
In 2010, he started the year with the AA Tennessee Smokies and tore up the Southern League (.376/.421/.569, 20 R, 20 RBI in 26 games) before being called up to Chicago on May 7. His major league debut that day was a memorable one. Playing the Cincinnati Reds, he hit a three-run homer off Homer Bailey in his first major league at-bat, then added a bases-loaded triple as the Cubs defeated the Reds, 14-7. At age 20, he was the youngest shortstop in Cubs history, the first player born in the 1990s to play in the major leagues, and only the 6th player to homer in his first major league at-bat for the team; the last had been pitcher Jim Bullinger in 1992. Even more remarkably, his 6 RBI were an all-time record; a number of players had driven in five runs in their major league debut, most recently Ben Grieve in 1997, but none had ever had 6. While he had been considered Chicago's top prospect, the power display was a surprise as he had homered 9 times in 995 minor league at-bats. However, his Wrigley Field debut on May 10 was less of a fairy tale: he committed three errors in a 4 - 2 loss to the Florida Marlins and was booed by his hometown fans. He settled nicely into the Cubs' regular shortstop job after that, and was still hitting over .300 in mid-August. He finished the season hitting an even .300 in 125 games, with a .345 OBP and a slugging percentage of .408. His ability to hold his own in the major leagues at such a young age made him one of the most promising rookies of the year, and earned him a spot on the 2010 Topps All-Star Rookie Team.
Castro was back as the Cubs' starting shortstop in 2011 and was one of the few bright spots on a team that under-performed significantly in spite of a large payroll. He was named to the 2011 All-Star Game as the Cubs' sole representative. However, he also got in trouble with manager Mike Quade for his sometimes lackadaisical play. The last straw came on August 21st, when he was goofing around and had his back to the plate when James Russell delivered a 6th-inning pitch against the St. Louis Cardinals. Quade benched his young star the next day and had him apologize to his teammates. Castro vowed "it would never happen again". He finished the season with 207 hits, the most in the National League and also led the circuit in at-bats and singles while posting a .307 batting average. Following the season, Chicago police announced that they were investigating charges of sexual assault filed against Castro, but dropped the case in April after finding insufficient evidence to move forward with a prosecution.
[edit] Notable Achievements
- 2010 Topps All-Star Rookie Team
- NL All-Star (2011)
- NL At Bats Leader (2011)
- NL Hits Leader (2011)
- NL Singles Leader (2011)
- 200 Hits Seasons: 1 (2011)
[edit] Sources
- 2008-2009 Baseball Almanacs
- 2009 Cubs Media Guide
