Luis Castillo

Luis Castillo

30-Year-Old PitcherSP
Seattle Mariners
2023 Fantasy Outlook
Castillo was slowed by a sore shoulder in spring training, which in turn made him a great bargain in fantasy drafts. He made his 2022 debut May 9 and really got into a groove in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline, posting a 1.59 ERA, 0.97 WHIP and 41:10 K:BB in what would turn out to be his final five starts for Cincinnati. The Mariners spent a pretty penny in prospect capital to acquire Castillo and the right-hander paid immediate dividends, helping the team to the ALDS. With Castillo, the name of the game is the world-class changeup, set up by a good fastball at 97 mph. The skills only got better after the move to Seattle and the park upgrade is massive. It will be exciting to see what Castillo can do at age 30 in his first full season with a legitimate contender. Read Past Outlooks
RANKSFrom Preseason
#60
ADP
$Signed a five-year, $108 million contact extension with the Mariners in September of 2022. Contract includes $25 million vesting option for 2028.
Cruises to win
PSeattle Mariners
September 19, 2023
Castillo (14-7) allowed two runs on five hits and three walks while striking out eight over seven innings to earn the win Tuesday over the Athletics.
ANALYSIS
Castillo earned his fifth quality start in his last six outings with a solid performance Tuesday. It took the Athletics until the seventh inning to get on the board, and the Mariners' lead was never in any real danger. Castillo now has a 3.06 ERA, 1.05 WHIP and 207:50 K:BB through 188.1 innings across 31 starts this season. He's lined up for a critical home start versus the Astros early next week as the Mariners continue to battle for the AL West lead.
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Pitching Stats
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2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2023 MLB Game Log
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2022 MLB Game Log
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2021 MLB Game Log
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2020 MLB Game Log
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2019 MLB Game Log
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2018 MLB Game Log
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Pitching Appearances Breakdown
Average Pitch Count
98
Last 10 Games
99
Last 5 Games
99
How many pitches does Luis Castillo generally throw?
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
 
1-10
 
11-20
 
21-30
 
31-40
 
41-50
 
51-60
 
61-70
 
71-80
 
81-90
 
91-100
 
101-110
 
111-120
 
121+
What part of the game does Luis Castillo generally pitch?
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
 
 
 
1st
 
 
 
2nd
 
 
 
3rd
 
 
 
4th
 
 
 
5th
 
 
 
6th
 
 
 
7th
 
 
 
8th
 
 
 
9th
 
Extra
% Games Reaching Innings Threshold
% Games By Number of Innings Pitched
Left/Right Pitching Splits
Since 2021
 
 
-2%
BAA vs LHP
2023
 
 
-9%
BAA vs RHP
2022
 
 
-5%
BAA vs LHP
2021
 
 
-7%
BAA vs LHP
BAA Batters K BB H 2B 3B HR
Since 2021vs Left .225 1123 287 112 222 49 7 33
Since 2021vs Right .229 1053 279 58 224 47 4 25
2023vs Left .220 413 114 33 82 17 3 18
2023vs Right .201 345 93 17 65 17 1 8
2022vs Left .206 302 77 25 55 14 0 8
2022vs Right .217 313 90 20 63 14 0 5
2021vs Left .245 408 96 54 85 18 4 7
2021vs Right .264 395 96 21 96 16 3 12
More Splits View More Split Stats
Home/Away Pitching Splits
Since 2021
 
 
-29%
ERA at Home
2023
 
 
-30%
ERA at Home
2022
 
 
-18%
ERA at Home
2021
 
 
-35%
ERA at Home
ERA WHIP IP W L SV K/9 BB/9 HR/9
Since 2021Home 2.81 1.08 269.0 18 12 0 10.6 2.8 0.9
Since 2021Away 3.95 1.26 257.1 12 17 0 8.7 3.0 1.1
2023Home 2.52 0.89 96.1 8 3 0 11.0 2.2 1.2
2023Away 3.62 1.21 92.0 6 4 0 8.7 2.5 1.3
2022Home 2.69 0.98 73.2 4 1 0 10.6 2.4 0.9
2022Away 3.29 1.19 76.2 4 5 0 9.4 2.9 0.7
2021Home 3.18 1.34 99.0 6 8 0 10.1 3.5 0.5
2021Away 4.87 1.39 88.2 2 8 0 8.2 3.7 1.3
More Splits View More Split Stats
Stat Review
How does Luis Castillo compare to other starting pitchers?
This section compares his stats with all starting pitcher seasons from the previous three seasons (minimum 120 innings)*. 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, Barrels/BBE %, Balls Hit 95+ MPH %, and Spin Rate are benchmarked against 2019 data (min 120 IP). See here for more exit velocity/barrels stats plus an explanation of current limitations with that data set.
  • K/BB
    Strikeout to walk ratio.
  • K/9
    Average strikeouts per nine innings.
  • BB/9
    Average walks per nine innings.
  • HR/9
    Average home runs allowed per nine innings.
  • Fastball
    Average fastball velocity.
  • ERA
    Earned run average. The average earned runs allowed per nine innings.
  • WHIP
    Walks plus hits per inning pitched.
  • BABIP
    Batting average on balls in play. Measures how many balls in play against a pitcher go for hits.
  • GB/FB
    Groundball to flyball ratio. The higher the number, the more likely a pitcher is to induce groundballs.
  • Left On Base
    The percentage of base runners that a pitcher strands on base over the course of a season.
  • Exit Velocity
    The speed of the baseball as it comes off the bat, immediately after a batter makes contact.
  • Barrels/BBE
    The percentage of batted ball events resulting in 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.
  • Spin Rate
    Spin Rate is the rate of spin on a baseball after it is released. It is measured in revolutions per minute (rpm).
  • Balls Hit 95+ MPH
    The percentage of batted balls hit that met or exceeded the 95 MPH threshold.
  • Swinging Strike
    The percentage of pitches that result in a swing and a miss.
K/BB
4.14
 
K/9
9.9
 
BB/9
2.4
 
HR/9
1.2
 
Fastball
96.2 mph
 
ERA
3.06
 
WHIP
1.05
 
BABIP
.272
 
GB/FB
1.05
 
Left On Base
77.8%
 
Exit Velocity
82.8 mph
 
Barrels/BBE
5.1%
 
Spin Rate
2198 rpm
 
Balls Hit 95+ MPH
23.4%
 
Swinging Strike
15.3%
 
Advanced Pitching Stats
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Defensive Stats
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Stats Vs Today's Lineup
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Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
Castillo was the worst starting pitcher in the majors through May, posting a 7.22 ERA and 1.78 WHIP over 52 innings. Over the final four months, he was a near ace, posting a 2.73 ERA, 1.20 WHIP and 144 strikeouts in 135.1 innings. Unfortunately, those first two months counted and wreaked havoc, and it's not the first time he has gotten off to a horrific start. It's been suggested by Castillo's agent and others that he's a warm-weather pitcher, and there might be something to that - his velocity was much lower in April and May, especially his peak velocity. There's another big warning sign for Castillo - the diminished effectiveness of his best pitch, his changeup. His K% on that pitch has dropped from 47% in 2019, to 40% in 2020, and all the way down to 28.2% in 2021. When Castillo's draft cost rises in March along with other purported aces, be sure not to get caught up in that inflation.
By FIP, Castillo had a better season than former teammate and NL Cy Young winner Trevor Bauer. The surface numbers lagged way behind his indicators early on, and while they caught up to an extent, Castillo still finished well below where the underlying numbers say he deserved to be. Castillo's changeup is one of the most dominant pitches in baseball, and it plays off a heater that sits 97 mph. His slider has developed into a strong offering, making Castillo something close to a nightmare for right-handed hitters. Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati has not been a problem for Castillo, historically, as he has an ERA nearly a run better at home (3.18) than on the road (4.15 ) in his career. The Reds do not project to be any better with the team cutting costs this offseason, but Castillo is still only 28 years old and this is unquestionably an ace profile on its own merit.
Spring training can be helpful in evaluating a pitcher, but it does come with some risks. Castillo sported a 12.46 ERA over four Cactus League appearances amid reports that his velocity was down. It turned out that Castillo was working on improving his slider, rather than relying more on his two best pitches, his changeup and four-seamer. Given the disparity between Castllo's first half of 2018 when his velocity was down to his second-half when the velocity was up, it was natural to be concerned. That concern cost you a breakout if you downgraded him accordingly. Castillo's fastball velocity (96.5 mph) actually improved, allowing him to post video-game quality results with his changeup (48% whiff rate, .193 WOBA against). If you want to look for a concern, Castillo's August and September were shaky, and he was limited to five starts in September.
Usually it's easy to dismiss first-half/second-half splits, but in the case of Castillo, it's hard to overlook his superb second half, especially when there's an easy explanation for his improvement. Before the All-Star break, Castillo had a 5.49 ERA, 1.65 HR/9, 21.5 K% and 7.9 BB% over 103.1 innings. In 66.1 innings after the break, Castillo turned in a 2.44 ERA, 1.22 HR/9, 26.3 K% and 5.3 BB%. The difference? Every one of Castillo's pitches recovered most of the velocity that he had in 2017 but had lost during the first half of 2018. Take his four-seamer as an example -- in September 2017 it clocked in at 97.3 mph, but in April it was down to 95.4 mph, and stayed down at that level until late July/early August, when it got back up to 96.6 mph (velocity readings courtesy of Baseball Savant). Even with the strong second half, Castillo didn't earn his NFBC ADP of 103.3, but he might exceed that in 2019 if he maintains his second-half velocity.
The Reds had been trying to develop a frontline starter to fill Johnny Cueto's shoes for a couple years, but it came to them in the unlikely form of Castillo, who was involved two trades and one rescinded trade before reaching the majors. He debuted after just 94.1 innings at Double-A and zero experience at Triple-A. Teams didn't figure him out as the year went on -- his ERA actually improved each month from July to September. Castillo was particularly dominant away from Great American Ball Park (2.84 ERA in 44.1 innings). His .247 BABIP, which would have been fifth lowest among qualified starters, will clearly regress. While we can't bank on a repeat of his rookie ratios, he should still be very effective in year two. He throws three pitches -- a fastball that averages 97.5 mph and tops out around 99-100 mph, an out-of-this world changeup and a rapidly improving slider. He has the stuff, command and size (6-foot-2, 190 pounds) to pitch atop a rotation.
Best known for being traded to San Diego and then sheepishly traded back to Miami when Colin Rea's elbow gave out after the trade, Castillo has emerged as one of the best prospects in a desolate Marlins system. He sports an 80-grade fastball with an above-average changeup and two breaking balls that are works in progress, but there is still plenty of time for refinement in the upper levels of the minors. That incomplete repertoire was still more than enough to dominate Florida State League hitters. The lack of strikeouts despite cheddar that touches triple digits illustrates his lack of a consistent out pitch, so he will need to continue to improve those offerings if he hopes to have success as a starter at Double-A and Triple-A. He is relatively new to starting, having worked exclusively as a reliever from 2012 to 2014, so becoming more adept at sequencing will also help him miss more bats. This is an arm that could take a big jump up prospect lists this year, especially now that he's in a Reds' system in the middle of a complete rebuild.
More Fantasy News
Strikes out eight in win
PSeattle Mariners
September 13, 2023
Castillo (13-7) earned the win Wednesday, allowing two runs on three hits and three walks over six innings in a 3-2 victory over the Angels. He struck out eight.
ANALYSIS
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Six scoreless in win
PSeattle Mariners
September 7, 2023
Castillo (12-7) earned the win Thursday, allowing four hits and four walks over six scoreless innings against the Rays. He struck out eight.
ANALYSIS
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Five earned runs in no-decision
PSeattle Mariners
September 3, 2023
Castillo did not factor into the decision Saturday, allowing five runs on eight hits and two walks over five innings in an 8-7 win over the Mets. He struck out two.
ANALYSIS
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Fires seven shutout innings
PSeattle Mariners
August 27, 2023
Castillo (11-7) allowed a hit and one walk over seven scoreless frames Sunday, striking out six and earning a win over the Royals.
ANALYSIS
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Cruises to victory
PSeattle Mariners
August 21, 2023
Castillo (10-7) yielded one run on five hits over seven innings Monday, striking out nine and earning a win over the White Sox.
ANALYSIS
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