The best chance for hitters is to be aggressive and hope to connect on a heater over the middle of the plate early. Or a slider that moves in the opposite direction of the two pitches you’re gearing up for. Nor a changeup that looks identical out of the hand with exaggerated movement. It’s not easy hitting against upper 90s with life. You should be getting a sense of how Castillo makes batters uncomfortable in the box. Unfortunately for the Milwaukee outfielder, it was a biting slider that fell far away from the plate and Castillo already has two strikeouts.
Out of Castillo’s hand, two of three pitches would make the ball curl back to the outside edge, forcing Braun’s commitment early. It’s not even a well-executed pitch, but by cycling through his repertoire, it forced Braun to not rule out any pitch. Despite failing to put Braun away three pitches later, there is still an air of confidence with Castillo, that as long as he executes any pitch, it would do the job. He tried spotting the changeup at 2-2, but it curled back over the plate and Bruan slapped it foul down the third base line. He tried a slider away – it floated off the plate – then a fastball at 99mph, but it wasn’t close enough to get the call nor a budge from Braun. So what do you throw now? Common convention dictates heat inside as it changes both speed and location, but Castillo wanted to flex his muscles in the first.
Let’s review what you just saw: Near 10mph difference from strike one, starts off the plate before gliding back, clips the edge of the low-outside corner, and sends the count to 0-2. We’re going to talk about it again down the road.Ĭastillo responds by pumping a 97mph heater over the plate for a foul ball to Ryan Braun, then executes a changeup that should make any pitching fan tremble: It’s a terrible pitch and while Castillo can often get away with mistakes like this with his heat and movement, this was a massive meatball, especially in a hitter’s 1-0 count. One out in the books, Castillo missed with an 0-0 up-and-away to Neil Walkerand then had the confidence to throw a 1-0 down the pipe… Castillo has already claimed his first victim. He executed, and with a touch of tail as well he earned a flailing strikeout as Perez was clearly looking for another changeup (he never lifted his front foot). Now with two strikes and noticing how late Perez was on the previous 98mph, Castillo aimed to jam him with more heat, getting a second chance to nail the spot he wanted to hit at 2-1. After the slow 87mph 1-1 pitch, Perez was plenty late on the 2-1 heater, while he also found himself lunging at the pitch as he was looking more inside. There’s so much to break down here on just two pitches. We’ll see Castillo make the former mechanical flaw a good amount in this start, but seeing him not only recognize the problem but quickly adjust it makes me confident he can eradicate it as he gets more experience in the bigs.Īfter missing inside with a 1-1 changeup that featured a ton of ride, Castillo ended the at-bat with two heaters north of 97mph: That’s a mature adjustment from a young pitcher. Castillo pulls himself toward first-base during his delivery in the first pitch (resulting in a tugged heater away), then makes the adjustment to stay geared toward the plate for longer, earning himself strike one at a cool 99mph. The first pitch here isn’t so bad, but what I want you to focus on are his mechanics in both pitches. First, let’s look at his opening two pitches: I’m going to take you through the outing, detailing elements as they surface, and do my best Bob Ross impression as we paint a portrait of Luis Castillo together.Ĭastillo’s first batter was Hernan Perez and there’s plenty I want to talk about already. Should I pick select pitches from all 15 of his starts? Break down each pitch in his repertoire? Separate his mechanics, sequencing, and stuff individually? While considering these options I was watching his final start of the season – a September 6th game against the Milwaukee Brewers – and I realized it was all here. I debated about the best format to present Castillo in this article. There’s plenty of excitement swirling around the 25-year-old – I have him ranked at #20 in today’s Top 20 Starting Pitchers for 2018 – and indulge me as I ramble for 3,500 words about why I believe he can be a fantasy ace for years to come. The question of who to feature this year had an easy answer, as I’ve been enamored with Cincinnati Reds pitcher Luis Castillo ever since watching the first four pitches of his MLB career. With every annual launch of Pitcher List, tradition demands a GIF Breakdown waiting to be unwrapped as we begin our coverage for the season ahead. (Photo by Shelley Lipton/Icon Sportswire)
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