8. Willi Castro
Minors (AAA): 525 plate appearances, .301/.366/.467, 28 doubles, 11 homers, 17 steals, 37 walks, 110 plate appearances
Majors: 110 plate appearances, .230/.284/.340, six doubles, one homer, six walks, 34 strikeouts
The Detroit Tigers will not have any problems locating infielders in their farm system. They have five shortstops that could be listed amongst their top 20 prospects.
Of that group, Willi Castro may be the most intriguing. Acquired by Detroit in exchange for Leonys Martin, Castro has displayed an interesting mix of gap power and speed at each level of the minors as he steadily climbed up the ladder.
A switch hitting line drive hitter with solid gap power, it is thought that he will develop into a double digit home run hitter in the majors as he matures physically. He has an aggressive approach at the plate, but also has displayed a refusal to chase out of the zone. Castro has also tweaked his swing since being acquired by the Tigers, resulting in a higher fly ball rate that could unlock more power at the dish.
The biggest question is Castro’s defense. While he has a strong arm and decent range at short, there are differing opinions as to his glove. Aside from 2018, he had made at least 22 errors each year he played full season ball. Castro has just 46 games at a position other than short in his minor league career – 45 at second and one at third. The defense will need to improve.
Willi Castro has an intriguing all around game on offense. But if he is going to make a difference with the Detroit Tigers, he will either need to improve his defense at short, or learn to play other positions as a utility man.