The Chicago White Sox are entering the second year of their rebuilding process, and they’ve added some pieces to help move things along in 2018.
Today we’re taking a look at new catcher Welington Castillo.
How He Got Here
The White Sox signed Castillo on the free agent market, inking him to a two-year contract with a team option for the 2020 season.
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What He Did in 2017
Castillo was a good power hitter for the Orioles in limited action in 2017, hitting 20 home runs and driving in 53 RBI in just 341 at-bats.
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What Does He Bring to the Table?
Last season, the White Sox got precious little offensive production out of their catchers, who combined for 10 home runs and 51 RBI in 162 games. Castillo gives them an instant upgrade in that department, and he could provide a strong bat in the middle of an order that includes Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia.
The big question for Castillo comes on the defensive side of things. Prior to the 2017 season he was known as a below-average pitch framer that struggled in helping his pitchers get strikes, but according to Fangraphs he had an above-average season with the Orioles, so it’s going to be fascinating to see if he regresses, or if his defensive metrics continue to trend in the right direction.
Our Prediction for 2018
Baseball Reference is projecting Castillo to hit just about as many home runs and to drive in a few more runs in the White Sox lineup this season, and we’re going to guess that he’ll be right around the 20 home run and 60 RBI mark.
The two-year contract that Castillo signed indicates that the team plans on him being around for at least this season, and that could be an important indicator as to how they feel about Omar Narvaez and Kevan Smith’s development at the big league level.
Castillo’s deal also paves the way for Zack Collins to take his time in developing, but we’re anticipating that Castillo will be the main guy in 2018, without much fear of Collins coming up and taking his job.
