Are Castellanos' Recent Struggles Worth Worrying About?

The Philadelphia Phillies' right fielder has been struggling in the month of May.

The game of baseball is one which puts an individual's streaks on full display. While a player could be knocking the cover off the ball one week, he's an automatic out the following week.

Almost every slugger on the Philadelphia Phillies has gone through this at some point already this season—Bryce Harper, Kyle Schwarber, Jean Segura—the list goes on. The one exception appeared to be Nick Castellanos, who had been the most consistent offensively, but now the he's caught in a major slump.

In April, Castellanos had been what the Phillies ordered when they signed him for five-years, $100 million just a few weeks prior to the start of the season. The 2021 All-Star slashed .300/.374/.475 with five doubles, three home runs, and 12 RBI in 91 plate appearances.

But May has been a bit of a different story for Castellanos. Through 19 games, the 2021 Silver Slugger has hit just .211, posted an OPS barely above .600, with only two home runs and nine RBI. On the Phillies' most recent home stand, he batted just .182 and struck out six times. 

Castellanos' latest shortcomings have caused a dip to his Hard Hit % according to Statcast; in 2021, it was 46.9 and in 2022, it's fallen to 37.9, a difference of -9. His xBA and xSLG have also dropped, from .293 in 2021 to .267 in 2022, and .535 to .467, respectively. Nearly every category has decreased for Castellanos thus far, except his K%, which increased from 20.7 last season to 23.8 this season.

As the 2022 MLB season is only a quarter of the way through, it's important to take those statistics with a grain of salt. Castellanos still possesses a lot of power and has been one of the most crucial pieces to Philadelphia's lineup. Although he hasn't looked as sharp, the 30-year-old continues to deliver in high leverage spots and with runners in scoring position. He's batting .368 with a .902 OPS in high leverage spots and .256/.362/.359 with 14 RBI with RISP.

Next to May of 2021 in which he hit .409, June was Castellanos' best month of the season. He slashed .327/.365/.551 with four homers and 22 RBI. There's no reason to not expect him to turn it up as the weather gets warmer and we get deeper into the season.

So, it's not time to be concerned about Castellanos. In fact, he's probably the least of the Phillies' worries at the moment, but it's definitely something to monitor in the coming weeks, especially if the offense as a whole continues to struggle. 

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