Biographical

Portrait of Rusney Castillo

Rusney Castillo CFRed Sox

Red Sox Player Cards | Red Sox Team Audit | Red Sox Depth Chart

2019 Projections (Preseason PECOTA - seasonal age 31)
PA AVG HR R RBI SB DRC+ WARP
325 .266 8 39 31 7 89 0.8
Birth Date7-9-1987
Height5' 9"
Weight207 lbs
Age36 years, 8 months, 19 days
BatsR
ThrowsR
0.82015
-0.02016
2017
2018
0.82019
proj
WARP Summary

MLB Statistics

YEAR TEAM AGE G PA H 2B 3B HR BB SO HBP SB CS AVG OBP SLG DRC+ DRAA BRR FRAA BWARP
2014 BOS 26 10 40 12 1 0 2 3 6 1 3 0 .333 .400 .528 95 -0.2 0.7 1.4 0.3
2015 BOS 27 80 289 69 10 2 5 13 54 1 4 5 .253 .288 .359 72 -8.3 1.3 9.2 0.8
2016 BOS 28 9 8 2 1 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 .250 .250 .375 70 -0.3 0.4 -0.6 0.0
Career993378312271663275.262.301.37975-8.82.310.01.1

Statistics for All Levels

'opp' stats - Quality of opponents faced - have been moved and are available only as OPP_QUAL in the Statistics reports now.
Minor league stats are currently shownClick to hide.
YEAR Team Lg LG G PA oppAVG oppOBP oppSLG BABIP BPF BRAA repLVL POS_ADJ DRC+ DRC+ SD FRAA BRR DRAA BWARP
2014 BOS MLB AL 10 40 .245 .309 .381 .357 102 2.3 1.0 0.1 95 11 1.4 0.7 -0.2 0.3
2015 BOS MLB AL 80 289 .252 .312 .410 .298 116 -13.9 7.8 -2.2 72 11 9.2 1.3 -8.3 0.8
2015 PAW AAA INT 40 172 .254 .319 .365 .323 89 5.8 4.8 -1 121 0 0.5 0.0 1.2 0.6
2016 BOS MLB AL 9 8 .262 .321 .469 .400 117 -0.3 0.2 0 70 6 -0.6 0.4 -0.3 0.0
2016 PAW AAA INT 103 429 .252 .311 .375 .310 99 -6.3 12.1 0.2 107 0 9.1 4.6 -1.9 2.5
2016 PUR Wnt CS 5 23 .000 .000 .000 .167 0.0 0 0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
2017 PAW AAA INT 87 369 .260 .322 .400 .332 96 14.8 10.9 -0.1 147 0 5.1 3.0 17.7 3.6
2018 PAW AAA INT 117 511 .249 .314 .385 .372 93 11.4 15.0 -0.1 136 0 -5.0 1.2 18.2 3.0
2019 PAW AAA INT 120 493 .265 .339 .443 .291 92 -2.1 16.9 -5.2 102 0 3.1 -1.3 1.5 1.3

Statistics For All Levels

Minor league stats are currently shownClick to hide.
Year Team lvl LG PA AB R H 2B 3B HR TB RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG ISO SF SH
2014 BOS MLB AL 40 36 6 12 1 0 2 19 6 3 6 3 0 .333 .400 .528 .194 0
2015 BOS MLB AL 289 273 35 69 10 2 5 98 29 13 54 4 5 .253 .288 .359 .106 1 1
2015 PAW AAA INT 172 156 17 44 7 0 3 60 17 14 28 10 2 .282 .337 .385 .103 2 0
2016 PUR Wnt CS 23 23 3 4 0 0 1 7 4 0 4 1 0 .174 .174 .304 .130 0 0
2016 BOS MLB AL 8 8 4 2 1 0 0 3 0 0 3 0 0 .250 .250 .375 .125 0 0
2016 PAW AAA INT 429 395 55 104 20 5 2 140 34 24 68 9 3 .263 .309 .354 .091 4 2
2017 PAW AAA INT 369 347 52 109 22 0 15 176 43 11 51 14 2 .314 .350 .507 .193 2 0
2018 PAW AAA INT 511 474 56 151 31 0 5 197 59 29 80 13 7 .319 .360 .416 .097 4 0
2019 PAW AAA INT 493 460 63 128 25 1 17 206 64 25 63 5 9 .278 .321 .448 .170 2 0

Plate Discipline

YEAR Pits Zone% Swing% Contact% Z-Swing% O-Swing% Z-Contact% O-Contact% SwStr% CSAA
2014 133 0.5414 0.5338 0.7887 0.7778 0.2459 0.8929 0.4000 0.2113 -0.0016
2015 1029 0.4820 0.5180 0.7617 0.6653 0.3809 0.8515 0.6158 0.2383 0.0046
2016 25 0.5200 0.4800 0.6667 0.6154 0.3333 0.8750 0.2500 0.3333 0.0000
Career11870.48950.51900.76270.67690.36480.85660.58390.23730.0038

Injury History  —  No longer being updated

Last Update: 12/31/2014 23:59 ET

Date On Date Off Transaction Days Games Side Body Part Injury Severity Surgery Date Reaggravation

Compensation

Year Team Salary
2020 BOS $14,271,429
2019 BOS $11,771,428
2018 BOS $11,771,428
2017 BOS $11,271,429
2016 BOS $11,271,429
2015 BOS $11,271,429
2014 BOS $871,428
YearsDescriptionSalary
7 yrPrevious$72,500,000
7 yrTotal$72,500,000

 

Service TimeAgentContract Status
0 y 143 dRoc Nation Sports2021

Details
  • 2021. Signed by Rakuten Golden Eagles of Japan.
  • 7 years/$72.5M (2014-20). Signed by Boston as a free agent from Cuba 8/23/14. $5.4M signing bonus. 14:$100,000, 15:$10.5M, 16:$10.5M, 17:$10.5M, 18:$11M, 19:$11M, 20:$13.5M. Castillo may opt out of contract after 2019 season. Limited no-trade protection. Sent outright to Triple-A by Boston 6/20/16.

2019 Preseason Forecast

Last Update: 1/27/2017 12:35 ET

PCT PA R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG DRC+ VORP FRAA WARP
90o 381 47 111 20 1 10 45 13 71 9 3 .310 .343 .455 111 19.8 2.1
80o 362 43 101 18 1 9 41 12 69 8 3 .296 .330 .434 103 14.4 1.5
70o 348 40 95 17 1 9 38 11 67 8 3 .290 .321 .430 98 10.7 1.1
60o 336 38 88 16 1 8 36 11 66 7 3 .277 .310 .409 93 7.8 0.8
50o 325 35 84 15 1 8 34 10 65 7 2 .273 .305 .406 89 5.2 0.6
40o 314 33 78 14 1 7 32 9 63 6 2 .262 .291 .386 84 2.8 0.3
30o 302 31 73 13 1 7 30 9 62 6 2 .254 .285 .380 80 0.3 0.0
20o 288 29 67 12 1 6 28 8 60 5 2 .245 .274 .361 74 -2.3 -0.2
10o 269 26 58 10 1 5 25 7 57 5 2 .226 .253 .331 67 -5.5 -0.6
Weighted Mean3283685151835106573.273.305.405906.00.6

Preseason Long-Term Forecast (Beyond the 2019 Projections)

Playing time estimates are based on performance, not Depth Charts.
Year Age PA R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB AVG OBP SLG DRC+ WARP VORP BRR POS_ADJ REP_ADJ RAA FRAA
202032378429217094113766.260.296.386871.28.1-0.12.69.7-4.03.3
202133335378315183612685.259.295.383851.06.6-0.22.28.6-4.02.9
202234335368115083512694.258.294.381851.06.2-0.42.18.6-4.12.9
202335291327012073110603.257.293.380840.85.2-0.41.77.5-3.62.5
202436277306712162910582.256.293.378840.84.6-0.51.67.1-3.62.4
202537278306612062910581.255.290.376830.74.2-0.61.57.1-3.82.4
20263826629631206289561.253.289.374820.73.8-0.61.46.8-3.82.3
20273925928611106279550.252.288.371810.63.3-0.71.26.6-3.92.3
20284025127591106269530.250.286.368800.62.9-0.71.16.4-4.02.2

Comparable Players (Similarity Index 72)

Rank Score Name Year DRC+ Trend
1 82 Lou Montanez 2013 0 DNP
2 81 Jason Bourgeois 2013 86
3 80 Chad Allen 2006 0 DNP
4 80 Jason Pridie 2015 71
5 80 Darin Mastroianni 2017 0 DNP
6 79 Jason Ellison 2009 0 DNP
7 78 Jeff Salazar 2012 0 DNP
8 77 Darnell McDonald 2010 89
9 77 Jason Repko 2012 71
10 77 Justin Christian 2011 70
11 77 Adam Stern 2011 0 DNP
12 77 Jorge Padilla 2011 0 DNP
13 77 Nick Buss 2018 0 DNP
14 77 Rich Thompson 2010 0 DNP
15 76 Hector Luna 2011 0 DNP
16 76 Doug Clark 2007 0 DNP
17 75 Eugenio Velez 2013 0 DNP
18 75 Chris Denorfia 2012 101
19 75 Jose Constanza 2015 0 DNP
20 74 Joe Thurston 2011 83
21 74 John Gall 2009 0 DNP
22 74 Brian Bixler 2014 0 DNP
23 74 Ramiro Pena 2017 0 DNP
24 74 Clete Thomas 2015 0 DNP
25 74 Alex Presley 2017 93
26 73 Jesus Feliciano 2010 67
27 73 Dewayne Wise 2009 78
28 73 Vinny Rottino 2011 74
29 73 Adonis Garcia 2016 93
30 73 Elian Herrera 2016 0 DNP
31 73 Paulo Orlando 2017 71
32 73 Chase d'Arnaud 2018 71
33 73 Kris Negron 2017 78
34 73 Cole Gillespie 2015 84
35 73 Andres Torres 2009 95
36 73 Jerad Head 2014 0 DNP
37 72 Brian Bogusevic 2015 63
38 72 David Lough 2017 0 DNP
39 72 Tike Redman 2008 0 DNP
40 72 Ezequiel Carrera 2018 0 DNP
41 72 Mike Cervenak 2008 64
42 72 Steve Tolleson 2015 79
43 72 Darren Ford 2017 0 DNP
44 72 Quintin Berry 2016 0 DNP
45 72 Michael Spidale 2013 0 DNP
46 71 Pablo Ozuna 2006 90
47 71 Matt McBride 2016 73
48 71 Anthony Seratelli 2014 0 DNP
49 71 Don Kelly 2011 98
50 71 Robby Hammock 2008 85
51 71 Tuffy Gosewisch 2015 76
52 71 Joey Butler 2017 0 DNP
53 71 Edgar Gonzalez 2009 82
54 71 Julio Borbon 2017 0 DNP
55 70 Dee Brown 2009 0 DNP
56 70 Drew Sutton 2014 0 DNP
57 70 Leslie Anderson 2013 0 DNP
58 70 Oscar Salazar 2009 106
59 70 Matt Kata 2009 76
60 70 Logan Schafer 2018 0 DNP
61 70 Alejandro Freire 2006 0 DNP
62 70 Efren Navarro 2017 85
63 70 Nyjer Morgan 2012 69
64 70 Andy Phillips 2008 95
65 69 Eric Fryer 2017 74
66 69 Rajai Davis 2012 85
67 69 Gregorio Petit 2016 73
68 69 Cory Sullivan 2011 0 DNP
69 69 Joey Hammond 2009 0 DNP
70 69 Marlon Byrd 2009 111
71 69 Ivan De Jesus 2018 0 DNP
72 69 Jason Bowers 2009 0 DNP
73 69 Henry Mateo 2008 0 DNP
74 69 Josh Rodriguez 2016 0 DNP
75 69 Craig Gentry 2015 66
76 69 Andy Marte 2015 0 DNP
77 68 Johnny Monell 2017 0 DNP
78 68 Mike Rivera 2008 85
79 68 Tommy Field 2018 0 DNP
80 68 Jason Tyner 2008 80
81 68 Chris Burke 2011 0 DNP
82 68 Ross Gload 2007 87
83 68 Chris Rahl 2015 0 DNP
84 68 George Lombard 2007 0 DNP
85 68 Javier Colina 2010 0 DNP
86 68 Andrew Romine 2017 70
87 68 Robb Quinlan 2008 82
88 68 Josh Fields 2014 0 DNP
89 68 Kevin Frandsen 2013 87
90 68 Trent Oeltjen 2014 0 DNP
91 68 Scott Seabol 2006 0 DNP
92 68 Michel Hernandez 2010 0 DNP
93 68 Joe Inglett 2009 80
94 68 Irving Falu 2014 66
95 68 Daniel Robertson 2017 84
96 68 Tony Gwynn 2014 66
97 68 Sean Burroughs 2012 67
98 68 Ed Lucas 2013 80
99 67 Trevor Crowe 2015 0 DNP
100 67 Blake Lalli 2014 0 DNP

BP Annual Player Comments

YearComment
2019  Due to publishing agreements, the 2019 player comments and team essays are only available in the Baseball Prospectus 2019 book (available in hardcopy, and soon e-book and Kindle).
2018 His prohibitive contract aside, two things are prying Castillo’s window with the Red Sox open: his Triple-A performance and the fact that Alex Cora would be his new manager. Castillo hit quite well at Pawtucket last season, striking out less and hitting for substantially more power than he’d previously shown. As for Cora, he has managed Castillo in winter ball and has been a vocal supporter. So what’s the big holdup? Castillo’s $10-plus million AAV contract would count against the luxury tax if he were added back to the 40-man, so his shot at redemption would come with a hefty price tag. With Chris Young departing for free agency, the Red Sox could have a spot open for a fourth outfielder, and it would make sense for that player to be right-handed. Lots of players fit that profile, though, and not all of them cost eight figures.
2017 On March 10th, Hillsborough, Florida County police seized more than 800 pounds of marijuana and arrested 22 Cuban nationals in, what we kid you not, was called “Operation Hydro Hustlers.” Thanks to Rusney Castillo, that was only the second-biggest Cuban bust of the year. T’was a season of no highs and extreme lows for Castillo, who saw just nine games in the majors and whose chronic issues at the plate continued even when facing Triple-A pitching. He is now 29, buried behind a talented outfield and still owed $46 million over the next four seasons. To be blunt, his career in Boston is probably over, but it’s not clear any other team will take the hit financially to acquire him.
2016 Castillo has more raw power and a better arm than Mookie Betts and more speed and better bat-to-ball ability than Jackie Bradley Jr. He's quickly becoming the poster boy for the argument that tools aren't everything. Coming out of Cuba, Castillo was lauded for his glove, arm and speed, and we were told the hit tool and power would be good enough to play. He's come as advertised in the outfield and in terms of pop, but breaking pitches befuddle him, he's a horrendous baserunner and he makes mental mistakes that Dewey Crowe would find amateurish. You can cite a lack of MLB experience, but Castillo will turn 29 this season, and there's no explaining away his .202 TAv against right-handed pitching. Maybe the unique circumstances here make it unfair to grade Castillo against standard aging curves and we all know development isn't linear, but as of now it looks like the Red Sox spent $72.5 million on a short-side platoon player.
2015 Castillo's seven-year, $72.5 million contract is sure to lead to some unreasonable expectations, but the truth is the Red Sox didn't sign him to be a superstar. Instead, his acquisition represents an acknowledgement that the Red Sox needed more MLB-ready talent if they are to compete in 2015 and 2016, and Castillo will help on that front. We can't be entirely sure what to expect from the Cuban, but even a brief glimpse at his abilities last season tells us that he's a plus to plus-plus defensive center fielder, and that he has enough pop to keep pitchers honest. He's not terribly fast down the line, but he's an excellent runner underway and a legitimate threat to steal bases. Castillo would likely be miscast in a leadoff role, but he's a luxury to a team if he bats in the lower third of the order, and he has the athleticism and tools to be a first-division starter.

BP Articles

Click here to see articles tagged with Rusney Castillo

BP Chats

DateQuestionAnswer
2017-04-11 19:00:00 (link to chat)How many players are you taking over Mookie ROS?
(Skuggs from BROOKLYN)
I think he gets pushed to the bench in favor of Rusney Castillo. (Nick Schaefer)
2016-03-09 19:00:00 (link to chat)Which group sucks less? Anthony Alford, Rusney Castillo, Manuel Margot, Brett Phillips, Nick Williams,Spencer Adams, Mark Appel, Dylan Cease, Josh Hader, James Kapeielian, Triston McKenzie,Vince Velasquez or Blake Swihart, Jon Singleton, Dansby Swanson, Alex Jackson, Clayton Blackburn,Tyrell Jenkins, Rob Kaminsky, Zach Lee, Keuy Mella, Justin Nicolino, Aaron Nola, Tyler Jay. God these teams are awful.
(Clark from The 19th Hole)
The first group, but you're right, but they're both bad. (Mike Gianella)
2016-02-23 13:00:00 (link to chat)Conforto or Benintendi. Their careers have seemed to match each other in their early stages. Conforto reached the majors in 13 months and produced big time. What will the Red Sox do if he continues to rake? It appears top college bats, Schwarber, are ready for the big time almost immediately.
(oldbopper from New Britain, CT)
Red Sox are so deep. I don't know what they'll do, but Rusney Castillo has to Make It before it's really a tough question, I guess. And for that matter, that meteoric rise I, too, can foresee for Benintendi, has to actually happen. (Matthew Trueblood)
2015-09-09 13:00:00 (link to chat)The Red Six have a lot of prospects and young major league outfielders. In 5 years, who are the ones that they should keep around and who gets shipped out?
(Gary from Italy via Boston)
The Red Six is a fantastic comic book name.

Really tough to say right now. I don't believe the Bradley power numbers are going to carry over, but he can hit, it just took some time figuring out the timing issues. I'm still not convinced Rusney Castillo is a guy, and if someone offered me something solid I'd move him, but I'm not sure anyone is going to offer something solid. (Christopher Crawford)
2015-08-13 20:00:00 (link to chat)Greg, in a points league would you rather have Jason Heyward ($12) and Jesse Winker ($1) for Rusney Castillo ($4), Matt Shoemaker ($1), and Hyun-Jin Ryu ($2)? I am looking for some long term OF help.
(Matthew from Twin Cities)
Heyward and Winker and it's not even close (Greg Wellemeyer)
2015-07-28 18:00:00 (link to chat)Who is more likely to have the highest impact at the major league level? Rusney Castillo or Jorge Alfaro?
(OKC from OKC)
Alfaro's had a rough developmental ride through the minors but you know, I'll still buy in on his upside. Reports I've heard have me believing that he can stick at catcher where his impact will be much greater. (Mauricio Rubio)
2015-06-16 20:00:00 (link to chat)If the Red Sox were characters on Game of Thrones, who would they be? thanks
(Bill from Los Angeles)
This is super played out ...

... and as such, right in my wheelhouse.

Xander Bogaerts: Jon Snow
Mookie Betts: Danaerys Targaryen

Ben Cherington: Ned (tried to do the right thing, will probably lose head)
Wade Miley: Catelyn (doesn't do much but yell)
Rick Porcello: Robb Stark (handsome, ineffective)
Clay Buchholz: Sansa (WHAT EVEN ARE YOU?)
Eduardo Rodriguez: Arya (so much potential)
Brock Holt: Bran (takes a lot of forms)
Joe Kelly: Rickon (why do you exist?)
Mike Napoli: Hodor (...yep)
Christian Vazquez: Benjen Stark (plz come back)

John Henry: Tywin (still calling the shots)
Dustin Pedroia: Tyrion (most watchable/resourceful)
Larry Lucchino: Cersei (...)
David Ortiz: Jaime (lost a step but still badass)
Blake Swihart: Tommen (keep trying, little guy)

John Farrell: Stannis (stern but no one seems to listen)
Melisandre: Pablo Sandoval (is your power real or what)
Our Hopes/Dreams: Shireen

Hanley Ramirez: The Hound (unlikeable but powerful)
Koji Uehara: Brienne (still rooting for ya)
Daniel Nava: Pod (you too!)

Junichi Tawawa: Bronn (just gets stuff done)
Allen Craig: Janos Slynt (just doesn't)
Shane Victorino: Jorah (always hurt)
Jackie Bradley: Theon (has he not suffered enough?)
Justin Masterson: Beric Dondarrion (should not have been revived)

Craig Breslow: Doran (smart, ineffective)
Alejandro De Aza: sandsnake 1
Alexi Ogando: sandsnake 2
Tommy Layne: sandsnake 3

The Yankees: Roose Bolton
The Rays: Ramsay Bolton
The Blue Jays: The Night's King
The Orioles: Mance Rayder

And two for the book readers ...
Yoan Moncada: Young Griff
Rusney Castillo: Patchface (Ben Carsley)
2015-05-13 13:00:00 (link to chat)do you see boston turning to their AAA kids anytime soon? Rodriguez up first when/if they do since hes on the 40 man? thanks
(hdub from the bleachers)
Well, I think we've seen some of it with Swihart, and now JBJR. I would say Rodriguez gets the first crack at a rotation spot -- especially with Owens struggling to throw strikes -- and I imagine Rusney Castillo will be up sooner than later, too. (Christopher Crawford)
2015-05-13 13:00:00 (link to chat)What do you see as Rusney Castillo's upside offensively? 10-15 HR and 30 SBs? or is that light on the power and heavy on the steals?
(Shawn from Cubicle)
I think that's about right, actually. Maybe 15-20 instead of 10-15, but I think that's your best-case-scenario with Castillo. (Christopher Crawford)
2015-04-13 15:00:00 (link to chat)When do you expect Rusney Castillo to be promoted or traded?
(Alex from Anaheim)
If he keeps hitting in the minors, they have to find room for him, right? I talked to Alex Speier when previewing Boston for Effectively Wild. He basically said the ideal scenario is for Victorino to get hot, then the Sox shop him to fill another hole and call Castillo up whenever that happens. That seems like it may be a slower process than some would like, though. (Sahadev Sharma)
2015-04-07 14:00:00 (link to chat)Trade question for a 20 team dynasty league. I was offered Dan Norris, Miguel Castro, Rusney Castillo, and a 1st round milb pick for Jose Bautista. Disregarding context is this fair value for Jose?
(Allan from The Q)
My general feel is that folks drastically over-rate prospects in dynasty formats. I don't know your league, so maybe you feel really confident that it will still be around in 5 years to see the fruits of a stacked farm system, but the fail-rate of prospects is too high and Bautista is a true difference-maker for the next few seasons. If I were you I would hold onto Joey Bats, unless there was a Strasburg/Harper level talent (when they were drafted) to snag at the top of the draft. I assume that's a "no," so I would hold Bautista and see if you can get more midseason if feeling the need to deal him. (Doug Thorburn)
2015-02-26 20:00:00 (link to chat)Assuming Rusney Castillo and Yasmany Tomas were included in your dynasty top 101, where would they fill in? Is there any growth left for these guys?
(Steve from Long Beach)
They'd both be towards the back of the top-20 in value alone. But Castillo is a finished product. Tomas at least still has some growth opportunity--and a nice park in which to flash that power. (Bret Sayre)
2015-02-25 14:00:00 (link to chat)In a dynasty redraft league would you draft Carlos Rodon or Rusney Castillo? I have 3rd overall pick and the first two teams are taking Yoan Moncada, and the Yasmany Tomas.
(jdc1989 from St. Louis)
I'm not a huge fantasy guy, but I do play one pretty serious league - that I will admit I haven't won in a while. Fantasy baseball is usually a nightmare for people who work in and around baseball since they never have time in the summer to pay a whole lot of attention - and whenever they DON'T win, the guy who does win brags "my buddy is a scout for (team X) and I just beat him in fantasy!" Fun stuff. I get out to a lot of games in the Spring and Summer so I don't often get to watch my fantasy guys a whole lot.

Anyway... in my experience in fantasy though, I feel like I can always find a decent outfielder easier than I can find an above average pitcher. This seems pretty much true regardless of format, size, etc... There's just a lot of useful outfielders even though you can start three. The very top guys are great and all (ie. Trout), but I'm a lot more confident I can find myself an outfielder even in a deep dynasty league than I can a pitcher like Rodon could be. This is still true even though position players and position player prospects are on average tremendously safer bets than pitchers and pitching prospects. Arms are just riskier... and harder to project, less stable skill sets - not just about higher rate of injury.

I actually got a live look at Rusney last fall and he's a pretty talented player. I'm also not the highest guy on our prospect staff on Rodon. He didn't wow me when I saw him live (I actually preferred Jeff Hoffman's raw stuff, pre-surgery). I worried about his back issues going back to high school, too. My biggest dings on him were his FB command (often misses spots and heater rises up arm side) and overuse of his SL/cut. I don't see Rodon as being a true #1 starter because of those issues, but he certainly looks like a very good big league starter and he's basically there right now. Full disclosure wise - plenty of people in baseball would say (and did in fact say) that I'm really nitpicking here and that Rodon is going to be a monster. He's a big, durable (hopefully), lefty with plus to double-plus velo and a true out pitch. Even the downside of Rodon is appealing enough for me to pass on Rusney. Boston's plethora of lineup options kind of bugs me for fantasy value, too. Could they mix and match 4-5 guys with Mookie, Victorino and Allen Craig stealing ABs from Rusney? I don't think they laid out $70 million to sit him, though. In either case, I don't think it's possible to overstate how much the White Sox absolutely adore Rodon. In many way he's as safe a top starting pitching prospect as you will ever find available in a dynasty draft/auction and he's also a great bet to pay dividends quickly. (Al Skorupa)
2015-01-15 18:00:00 (link to chat)Who has a greater impact on their respective team, Rusney Castillo, or Yasmany Tomas? Why?
(Ron from Texarkana)
I'll take Rusney Castillo. Between the defensive value and more comfort with the application of the hit tools, I think Castillo can be an above-average everyday player in the short term (and possibly more long term). Tomas doesn't carry the defensive profile and there are enough questions about the translation of the hitting ability, that his impact could take a while to evolve, if it ever truly does. (Mark Anderson)
2015-02-13 19:00:00 (link to chat)What rooks do u see making an impact in the bigs this year?
(Tico Pride from Costa Rica)
In fantasy, there are quite a few. Rusney Castillo, Yasmany Tomas, Steven Souza, Kris Bryant, and Joc Pederson are all names that pop. (Mike Gianella)
2015-02-13 19:00:00 (link to chat)Big fan! I'm in a 13 team 5x5 mixed league where you get to keep 8 players from your major league roster and each team has a 12-man minor league roster as well. I need help finalizing my major league keepers. I'm going to be able to keep Stroman and Polanco for $1 each in addition to 8 of the below. Who should I throw back? Ortiz at 16 Pence at 18 Rusney Castillo at 4 Starlin Castro at 15 LaRoche at 1 Archer at 2 Shields at 8 Iwakuma at 7 Arrieta at 6 Giles at 2 Gregerson at 1
(MH from NY)
Thanks. You probably have to go prices and throw back Papi and Castro. Tough to throw any of those other guys back at those prices. (Mike Gianella)
2014-12-18 15:00:00 (link to chat)Rusney Castillo or Yasmani Tomas a better grab with the #1 pick in a dynasty rookie draft?
(Stevie from Los Angeles)
Ugh. Look man, I just... I don't know. I like Tomas' power potential, but I don't think he's a gamechanger in that respect and I'm not as high as Bret is that he's a 25 homer guy right off the bat. Castillo is older and I'm not convinced he's the bee's knees either but I guess I'll opt for him because his skillset is a little more diversified and so even if he sucks in some respects he could at least swipe you some bags. (Craig Goldstein)
2014-09-15 19:30:00 (link to chat)which 2014 draft or interational signees make the biggest fantasy impact in 2015?
(Luke from kansas city)
Forgive me if I'm missing someone obvious, but I think this has to be Rusney Castillo right now. He's one of the only guys who's basically guaranteed playing time right from the beginning of next season, and he has enough speed to be fantasy-relevant right away, even if the power/average take a bit to come. If you're looking for a draftee, I'll go with Carlos Rodon. (Ben Carsley)
2014-09-15 19:30:00 (link to chat)Does Rusney Castillo play everyday for the Sox?
(Shawnykid23 from CT)
Yes, probably starting later this week. (Ben Carsley)
2014-09-15 19:30:00 (link to chat)Which minor league players are most likely to start in the American League in 2015 that are either flying under the radar or have not been brought up. Thanks!
(Cinco bros from AZ)
For players who haven't come up yet, how about Rusney Castillo, Francisco Lindor, Chi Chi Gonzalez, Miguel Sano and Kyle Zimmer. For guys who are just under the radar, let's go with Nick Franklin, Mike Foltynewicz, Dylan Bundy, Drew Pomeranz, Daniel Norris and Oswaldo Arcia. (Ben Carsley)
2014-09-15 19:30:00 (link to chat)12 team/dynasty league/6x6 with ops holds...If Rusney Castillo comes up as planned on Tuesday he'll be available to be bid on the following night in our league. His price tag would be good for the final few days of this year and next year as well. What amount of FAAB would you be comfortable spending on him?
(eamuscatuli15 from nebraska)
If you can get him for 2015, too, use the rest of your FAAB. No one else is going to come up who's worth it. (Ben Carsley)


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No BP Roundtables have mentioned this guy.

 

PITCHf/x Hitter Profile

A Collaboration between BrooksBaseball.net and Baseball Prospectus - Pitch classifications provided by Pitch Info LLC