Willi Castro Makes 2020 Season Debut
Surprisingly, the 7-9 spots in the Detroit lineup have produced some much-needed pop in 2020. That narrative didn’t change when Tigers infielder Willi Castro was slotted into the nine-hole for Wednesday’s 7-5 loss at the hands of the White Sox.
Castro’s 2020 debut came only 24 hours after he received the call up from Detroit’s Satellite training camp in Toledo. This move allowed for center fielder Jacoby Jones to take a well-deserved day off.
The 23-year-old lined a 1-0 pitch to the opposite-field for a base hit in his first at-bat. Castro didn’t waste any time in his second appearance, swinging at a first-pitch from Dylan Cease and launching it to right field for his first home run of the season. He finished a sparkling day at the plate with three hits, two RBI and one run.
“I think you just got to be aggressive,’’ Castro said “Just try to get the strike zone, try to swing and don’t miss, you know.’’
The aggressive mindset has carried over to the Tigers’ offensive production in 2020, particularly with the usage of the long ball.
The 26 home runs through 16 games are a more than notable improvement upon last season when they didn’t reach eight homers until their 19th game of the season.
With first baseman CJ. Cron out for the foreseeable future, Tigers manager Ron Gardenhire plans to use Willi Castro in a utility role that saw him playing third base in yesterday’s game.
Castro has been seldom used at third base in his professional career, only three innings in Triple-A Toledo, to be exact. The vast majority of his defensive experience has come at his natural shortstop position, where he spent 253 innings last season for Detroit.
There was a moment in the fifth-inning that illustrated Castro’s inexperience at third. A misread on a ball that was grounded into short and should’ve been fielded by Castro left the bases loaded. Two batters later, Chicago’s rookie star, Luis Robert, capitalized with a bases-clearing double to give the White Sox a 7-5 lead.
“He hadn’t been over there,’’ Gardenhire said. “And you know what, he had a good day today. It was just one little play where he didn’t know we were throwing to second base, not third base, and he broke.’’
Castro told reporters that he’s more than willing to do whatever it takes to win. This isn’t the last time that the Tigers will shift the infield around in the absence of Cron, so it could open up some opportunity for Castro at shortstop.
