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Over the offseason, one of the hottest topics among Detroit Tigers fans was the issue of what to expect from third baseman Nick Castellanos during his sophomore campaign. Although he struggled defensively as a rookie, Castellanos showed flashes of promise with the bat, slashing a decent .259/.306/.394 with 11 home runs and a 94 wRC+. While it was hardly a slam dunk, a breakout season for the 23-year-old did seem to be a possibility.
Quite ironically, Castellanos’ glove has almost turned out to be less of a concern than his offense in 2015. According to most defensive metrics such as UZR, DRS and Fangraphs’ Def stat, Castellanos is grading out right around league average at the hot corner, which is obviously a significant improvement over the marks he had at the end of last season (-18.4 UZR, -30 DRS, -16.3 Def).
At the plate, however, he is hitting only .230/.281/.349 with four home runs and a 73 wRC+ this year.
Although Castellanos showed a knack for making solid contact in 2014, he hasn’t been as good at squaring the ball up this year. He posted an AL-best 28.5 percent line drive rate a year ago, but he is only lining the ball at a 20.6 percent clip in 2015. Unsurprisingly, the .326 BABIP he had last year has fallen along with the line drive rate, slipping to .291.
Furthermore, Castellanos had a 24.2 percent K rate during his rookie season, and his current mark of 25.0 percent in that department shows that he is clearly having trouble cutting down on the strikeouts. While his walk rate is also up a tick from last season, it is worth noting that his O-swing percentage has risen from 33.6 to 37.8 percent. This could be a sign of a player who is simply trying to do too much at the plate.
It is important to remember that Castellanos is still very young, and his bat was his No. 1 asset when he was coming through the Tigers’ minor league system. As a player who was a .303/.359/.445 career hitter down on the farm, he should be allotted more time to figure it out at the MLB level before he is given the “bust” label.
Castellanos’ struggles have also come at a time where the Tigers are in a three-way battle with the Minnesota Twins and Kansas City Royals for the top spot in the AL Central, and some have indeed pointed to third base as one of Detroit’s issues. While the team has other options to use at the hot corner in light-hitting utility man Andrew Romine and journeyman Josh Wilson, they need to be a little bit more patient.
Of course, Castellanos obviously won’t be an MVP candidate this year, but he does have the tools to make a difference. It is also quite possible that a very bright future in the Motor City still awaits him as well.
Brad Faber is a Senior Writer and Sabermetrics Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Brad_Faber, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on LinkedIn or Google.
