Detroit Tigers: Willi Castro finally gets big league spotlight

With Niko Goodrum being placed on the IL with a groin injury, SS prospect Willi Castro is finally seeing time in the major leagues with the Detroit Tigers.

The move by the Detroit Tigers to promote Willi Castro was not all that surprising as there was hope he would get called up at some point this season. I think most expected him to be a September call-up when rosters expand, and I love the move. He needs to get his shot.

This season is all but over for the Tigers, and it has been an absolute disaster.  I think he should see a lot of reps for the remainder of the season as there really isn’t any reason to be starting Jordy Mercer at SS every night. We need to start looking towards next year.

This is the perfect time for the DetroitTigers to bring the young guys up to get their feet wet for next season.  After Jake Rogers and Travis Demeritte made their debuts a few weeks ago, Castro is the latest prospect to make that jump, and he may not be the last either.

Castro has been Mr. Consistent this season, hovering around the .300 mark all year long in Triple-A Toledo. The 22-year-old slashed .301/.366/.467 for the Mud Hens with eleven home runs on the year, which has already eclipsed his season total of nine from the 2018 campaign. I would like to see him strikeout less than his 21 K ratio and walk more than his 7% BB ratio.  If that improves he, should do much better at this next level.

While consistent at the plate, Castro has been a little inconsistent in the field this year with 22 errors for Toledo, playing the majority of his games at SS.  That should be something for him to work on during the offseason as he gets acclimated to the speed and intensity of the major leagues.

The youngster made his MLB debut on Saturday night for Detroit as they took on the Twins in Minnesota. It was a solid first outing as well, as Castro went 2-4 at the plate with a double and a run scored in the Tigers’ 8-5 loss to Minnesota.

Despite these issues, Castro is ready. There’s no better way to get him ready for next season than letting him get a taste of the majors now.