Willi

Castro

With Mickey Moniak back from the IL and Kyle Karros establishing himself as the everyday third baseman, Castro has been losing playing time against righties lately. Fortunately for him, the Rockies have faced lefties in four of their last six games, getting him some extra playing time. He’s batting .265/.337/.385 in the first season of a two-year, $12.8 million contract. One imagines he’ll be very much available at the trade deadline if anyone wants to take on the rest of his deal.

It’s the fourth time now in the past seven games that Castro has found himself stationed on the Rockies’ bench. It looks like the Rockies’ crowded outfield mix has forced Castro, Tyler Freeman and Edouard Julien into a three-way timeshare for two spots in the lineup, sapping fantasy value from all of them in the process.

It’s the third time in the last five games that the versatile 29-year-old has found himself out of the Rockies’ lineup. He seems to have been the most impacted by the return of Mickey Moniak from the injured list.

Castro put the Rockies on the board for their only run of the game with a solo homer off of Sonny Gray in the second inning. He later drew a walk in the sixth. It was Castro’s sixth home run of the season while slashing .275/.351/.407 with 34 runs scored, 33 RBI, and five steals across 265 plate appearances. While hitting at Coors Field has certainly helped his batting average, it’s done little else to bolster his power, speed, or counting-stat production.

Castro hit a grand slam in the eighth inning, and a three-run homer a few innings earlier. He also singled twice and improved his slash to .278/.350/.402 with five homers and 29 RBI on the campaign. Castro seems likely to be dealt before the deadline, but he’ll at least get a few more weeks to pile up the stats with the Rockies before that happens.

McCarthy will get some time off to rest and recover with top prospect Cole Carrigg in center field and Willi Castro heading out to patrol left field in his place.

Castro’s only hit of the game was a big one as he took Grayson Rodriguez deep for a three-run blast in the fourth inning to break the game open. The 29-year-old super-utility man is up to three homers while slashing .260/.328/.364 with 25 runs scored, 22 RBI, and four steals across 192 plate appearances.

The positive news here is that X-rays came back negative for any fractures and Rumfield appears to have avoided serious injury after taking a pitch off his right hand during Monday’s series opener. The 26-year-old figures to get a couple extra days off to rest and recover this week. It’ll be Willi Castro taking over at first base on Tuesday night at Dodger Stadium.

Castro is back at second base and hitting sixth following a three-game absence due to back stiffness. The versatile 29-year-old is hitting .248/.314/.348 with two homers, 16 RBI and three steals in 156 plate appearances over 43 games in his Rockies debut this season.

Castro’s sixth-inning double scored Braxton Fulford and gave the Rockies a 7-3 cushion. The 29-year-old veteran has eight doubles on the season, and he’s now slugging a less-than-spectacular .351 on the season; even more unspectacular when you consider his home park. Castro likely will be a trade candidate this summer, and his utility abilities help clubs a lot more than fantasy players.