Jason Castro News

Jason Castro

33-Year-Old CatcherC

Houston Astros

2020 Stats

AVG

.188

RBI

2021 Projections

AVG

RBI

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2021 Fantasy Outlook

Castro begin 2020 as the Angels' primary catcher, expected to get the call whenever a right-hander was on the mound for the opposition. As the season progressed, he began ceding starts to the hot-hitting Max Stassi. On Aug. 30, Castro was slashing just .192/.323/.385 when he was traded to the Padres. Castro served as Austin Nola's backup down the stretch but posted an even-worse .179/.233/.357 line for playoff-bound San Diego club. Castro's defense is still above average, including solid framing skills, and despite last season's woes at the plate, he has some pop. Those skills landed Castro a two-year deal with the Astros, the team he broke in with over a decade ago now. His BA remains a liability as Castro's strikeout rate has been north of 30% five of the past six seasons, but in today's catcher landscape, he's very much in the mix as a second catcher in deep leagues requiring two backstops. Read Past Outlooks

RANKS

#525

ADP

Overall

League Majors

Bats L

Throws R

40 Man Yes

Height 6'3"

Weight 215

DOB 6/18/1987

Born Castro Valley, CA

College Stanford

Drafted 1st Rd 2008 HOU

Returns to Houston

CHouston Astros

January 21, 2021

Castro agreed Thursday with the Astros on a two-year, $7 million contract, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports.

ANALYSIS
After stops with the Twins, Angels and Padres across the last four seasons, Castro will return to the organization that made him a first-round selection in the 2008 first-year player draft. According to Jake Kaplan of The Athletic, Houston is planning to deploy Castro as its No. 2 catcher behind defensive stalwart Martin Maldonado, with Kaplan estimating that the latter will garner about 60 or 65 percent of the starts. If that prediction holds true, Castro likely wouldn't have much fantasy value outside of AL-only leagues, despite possessing the better bat of the two backstops in recent years.

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Batting Stats

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2020

2019

2018

2017

2020 MLB Game Log

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2019 MLB Game Log

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2018 MLB Game Log

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2017 MLB Game Log

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Minor League Game Log

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Batting Order Slot Breakdown

vs Right-Handed Pitchers

vs RHP

vs Left-Handed Pitchers

vs LHP

Left/Right Batting Splits

Since 2018

+85%

OPS vs RHP

2020

+30%

OPS vs RHP

2019

+145%

OPS vs RHP

2018

+34%

OPS vs RHP

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2018vs Left	.410	75	7	0	4	0	.127	.267	.143
Since 2018vs Right	.759	362	43	16	38	0	.224	.321	.438
2020vs Left	.540	22	0	0	1	0	.167	.318	.222
2020vs Right	.702	66	7	2	8	0	.190	.288	.414
2019vs Left	.347	45	6	0	3	0	.125	.222	.125
2019vs Right	.851	230	33	13	27	0	.254	.354	.497
2018vs Left	.375	8	1	0	0	0	.000	.375	.000
2018vs Right	.501	66	3	1	3	0	.155	.242	.259
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Home/Away Batting Splits

Since 2018

+8%

OPS at Home

2020

+31%

OPS at Home

2019

+1%

OPS on Road

2018

+44%

OPS at Home

	OPS	PA	R	HR	RBI	SB	AVG	OBP	SLG
Since 2018Home	.736	203	25	8	24	0	.227	.305	.431
Since 2018Away	.679	230	25	8	18	0	.194	.323	.356
2020Home	.801	38	4	1	5	0	.212	.316	.485
2020Away	.612	46	3	1	4	0	.179	.304	.308
2019Home	.762	129	19	7	18	0	.235	.310	.452
2019Away	.770	146	20	6	12	0	.230	.352	.418
2018Home	.581	36	2	0	1	0	.212	.278	.303
2018Away	.404	38	2	1	2	0	.067	.237	.167
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Stat Review

How does Jason Castro compare to other hitters?

This section compares his stats with all batting seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 400 plate appearances)*. The bar represents the player's percentile rank. For example, if the bar is halfway across, then the player falls into the 50th percentile for that stat and it would be considered average.

* Exit Velocity and Barrels/PA % are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 400 PA) and Hard Hit Rate is benchmarked against last season's data (min 400 PA). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.

BB/K
Walk to strikeout ratio
BB Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a walk.
K Rate
The percentage of plate appearances resulting in a strikeout.
BABIP
Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many of a batter’s balls in play go for hits.
ISO
Isolated Power. Slugging percentage minus batting average. A computation used to measure a batter's raw power.
AVG
Batting average. Hits divided by at bats.
OBP
On Base Percentage. A measure of how often a batters reaches base. Roughly equal to number of times on base divided by plate appearances.
SLG
Slugging Percentage. A measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats.
OPS
On base plus slugging. THe sum of a batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.
wOBA
Weighted on-base average. Measures a player's overall offensive contributions per plate appearance. wOBA combines all the different aspects of hitting into one metric, weighting each of them in proportion to their actual run value.
Exit Velocity
The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
Hard Hit Rate
A measure of contact quality from Sports Info Solutions. This stat explains what percentage of batted balls were hit hard vs. medium or soft.
Barrels/PA
The percentage of plate appearances where a batter had a batted ball classified as a Barrel. A Barrel is a batted ball with similar exit velocity and launch angle to past ones that led to a minimum .500 batting average and 1.500 slugging percentage.

BB/K

0.36

BB Rate

13.0%

K Rate

35.9%

BABIP

.289

ISO

.188

AVG

.188

OBP

.293

SLG

.375

OPS

.668

wOBA

.305

Exit Velocity

83.3 mph

Hard Hit Rate

51.1%

Barrels/PA

6.5%

Advanced Batting Stats

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Additional Stats

Games By Position

Defensive Stats

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Batted Ball Stats

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Stats Vs Upcoming Pitchers

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Astros Depth Chart

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Past Fantasy Outlooks

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

2009

Castro had the second-best offensive season of his career after missing almost all of 2018 due to a knee injury. He hit 13 home runs with a 103 wRC+ while playing good defense. Minnesota limited Castro's playing time to keep him fresh and played him mostly against right-handed pitching (83.6% of PA). He was just slightly above average in pitch framing according to Baseball Savant's Strike Rate, but has had a good reputation for helping a pitching staff behind the plate and the Angels will be hoping he does just that with their revamped staff after signing Castro to a one-year, $6.85 million deal. Castro can help a fantasy team if his playing time is limited as he has decent power (.203 ISO) and a good eye at the plate (12 BB%). However, Castro has sharp platoon splits (career .553 OPS vs. lefties, .750 vs. righties) and his struggles against lefties will hurt his averages with more exposure.

Castro played just 19 games last season after requiring season-ending surgery in May to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. When healthy, he provides strong defense behind the plate, pitch framing skills that help the staff, some power at the dish (.146 ISO in 2017) and decent on-base ability (.333 OBP). Castro draws walks at a good clip (11.1% in 2017) and had hit 10 or more home runs in five consecutive seasons before last year. However, it's not a guarantee he returns to his previous form since he tore the same meniscus and also recovered from an ACL tear earlier in his career. He should face increased competition for playing time with Mitch Garver and Willians Astudillo showing promise in his absence. Given his contract (due $8 million this year, free agent in 2020), Castro may enter camp as the favorite, but it should be a fluid depth chart, with the younger options likely displacing the veteran at some point.

Castro stabilized Minnesota's catching position last season as the Twins got exactly what they expected in the first year of his three-year, $24.5 million contract. He provided strong defense behind the plate, pitch framing skills that helped the staff, some power at the plate (.146 ISO) and decent on-base ability (.333 OBP). Castro draws walks at a good clip (11.1 percent) and has hit 10 or more home runs in five consecutive seasons. His .720 OPS ranked 23rd out of 33 big-league catchers with 300 or more plate appearances (11th out of 15 in the AL). That makes him relevant in AL-only leagues and two-catcher mixers, but he should be an afterthought in one-catcher mixed leagues. Mitch Garver, a catching prospect who turned 27 in January, may have slightly more offensive upside, but Castro has the clear edge on defense, so he should continue to get the bulk of playing time for the Twins behind the plate.

Best known for his receiving skills, Castro failed to hit above .225 or break 15 home runs for the third straight year, although he saw plenty of at-bats as Houston's primary catcher over that span. Castro has been a particular liability in leagues that penalize strikeouts, as he's whiffed at an increasing rate each of the past three years, topping out at a whopping 33 percent in 2016. Castro hit particularly poorly against left-handed pitching ( .149/.237/.241). A former top-10 pick, Castro was once a promising power hitter who hit 18 homers and slugged .485 in 2013 so he still has some upside. His offensive numbers have been on the decline ever since, but his defensive skills and pitch-framing ability are seen as elite. He'll be the primary catcher for the Twins after signing a three-year, $24 million contract.

Thumbing his nose at a history of chronic right knee issues, Castro remained healthy in 2015, but he was limited to just 104 games for the Astros due to his offensive struggles. The 28-year-old hit a mere .211/.283/.365 with 11 home runs and 31 RBI over 337 at-bats. He struck out at a career-worst 30.7 percent clip, but his strong defense behind the plate and relationship with the pitching staff earned him the lion's share of the playing time over No. 2 catcher Hank Conger. A finalist for the AL Gold Glove award last season, Castro is likely to open 2016 as Houston's starting catcher with Conger dealt to Tampa Bay in the offseason, and he has every incentive in the world to pick it up offensively with free agency looming in the winter.

Drafted as a consensus top-12 catcher, Castro hit a disappointing .222/.286/.366 with 14 home runs and 56 RBI to finish 2014 ranked 21st at the position. That made him a starter in most two-catcher leagues, but Castro's modest power (.156 career ISO), weak on-base skills (.316 OBP) and struggles against lefties (.201 BAA) make him a fringe option even in those formats. Perhaps the only impressive detail about his 2014 campaign was the fact he avoided the disabled list, but chronic right knee issues plagued him in every season prior and he continues to play the most physically demanding position on the field. The offseason acquisition of Hank Conger from the Angels puts Castro's long-term future with the Astros in doubt, but he'll likely compete with Conger in an ongoing battle for playing time if the duo remains intact through the end of spring training.

In 2013, Castro finally had the coming out party that many were expecting earlier in his career. Not only did he stay relatively healthy, appearing in a career-high 120 games before a cyst in his right knee forced him to miss most of September, he earned All-Star Game honors and won the American League Player of the Week award twice. Backed by a .276/.350/.485 slash line with 18 home runs and 56 RBI, Castro was one of the better offensive catchers in fantasy, especially since the Astros used him as a middle-of-the-order bat in their rebuilding lineup. The 26-year-old is expected to be ready for spring training and build off his success from last season.

Last season was supposed to be Castro's coming out party. Instead, it was another cautionary tale about lofty projections for catching prospects, as the oft-injured Castro put up some pretty pedestrian offensive numbers. Though he may never hit the way he was projected to coming out of college, he may be able to evolve into the sort of player that can put up a league average batting average with a solid on-base percentage and 10-15 home runs. Castro is only 25 and has just 452 major league at-bats to his name, so there is reason to hope a breakout is still looming. The Astros, however, would be wise to ensure whoever they sign as Castro's backup is competent enough to step in as the starter if things for Castro go from bad to worse.

Just when it finally looked like Castro was going to get that chance to prove himself as a starter, he tore his ACL. As it stands now, he is just a .205 career hitter without speed or power. A brief stint in the Arizona Fall League showed useful on-base skills, but minimal pop in a hitter-friendly environment. To make matters worse, he suffered a foot injury in his final AFL game and will be sidelined until mid-March. He still could turn into a solid everyday catcher, but it no longer looks like the former first-round pick will become a star.

For the better part of the last decade, the Astros have lacked a strong offensive catcher, a problem they hoped to solve when they made Castro the 10th overall pick in 2008. Castro's bat has been decent, but he still has some work to do defensively, something he could perhaps learn on the job from Humberto Quintero's "veteran presence." He'll only be 23 in 2011, so there's time for him to develop, but a slow start could mean he's doing that developing in Triple-A.

Castro held his own splitting time between High-A and Double-A, hitting .300 and playing solid defense. A three-run homer for Team USA in the Futures Game put an exclamation point on a "coming of age" season for the young catcher. He, and not J.R. Towles, is increasingly being looked to as the Astros' catcher of the future. Castro might see some time in Houston in 2010, but if the Astros were smart, they'd let him spend the bulk of the season developing in Triple-A. He's just 22, and there's no sense in rushing him.

The Astros made Castro, a catcher from Stanford, the 10th overall pick in last June’s amateur draft. He hit .376/.429/.613 in his final year with the Cardinal, with 14 homers, 18 doubles, 73 RBI and 68 runs. Castro quickly reached an agreement with the Astros and played with Tri-City in the short-season New York-Penn League where he hit .275/.383/.384 with two homers, nine doubles and 12 RBI in 138 at-bats. He’s just 21 years old and currently projects as Houston's catcher of the future. He will likely begin the year at High-A Salem or Double-A Corpus Christi in 2009.

More Fantasy News

Starting Game 3

CSan Diego Padres

October 8, 2020

Castro (jaw) will catch and bat ninth in Game 3 of the NLDS against the Dodgers on Thursday.