5:33pm: The Reds, too, will join the party, according to a tweet from C. Trent Rosecrans of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Likewise, the Padres will be on hand, tweets Corey Brock of MLB.com. The brings the current tally of teams reportedly planning to have a look at Castillo to 17.
4:30pm: John Hickey of the Bay Area News Group tweets that the A’s will also be in attendance at tomorrow’s showcase.
12:46pm: Cuban outfielder Rusney Castillo’s showcase for Major League teams is tomorrow, but MLB.com’s Jesse Sanchez adds an interesting twist to the audition: the speedster will work out at both center field and at shortstop (Twitter link).
Previous reports have indicated that the Twins, Cubs, White Sox, Braves, Giants, Mariners, and Orioles would attend the showcase. Additionally, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times writes that the Rays will be in attendance, while Juan C. Rodriguez of the Miami Sun-Sentinel notes that the Marlins will be in attendance, and George A. King III of the New York Post adds the Yankees to the mix. Beyond that, Jon Heyman of CBS Sports adds lists a few other clubs that will attend: the Mets, Red Sox, Rangers and Astros.
Castillo is said by many to have plus-plus speed, and several scouting reports have comped him to Brett Gardner with a bit more power. The right-handed hitting 27-year-old has drawn praise for his line-drive stroke, and he’s thought of as a potential starting-caliber outfielder for a Major League club. Sanchez has tweeted a new scouting video of Castillo (including footage of him pushing a car — seriously), while a scouting report can also be seen over at Baseball America, courtesy of international guru Ben Badler. Castillo is represented by Roc Nation Sports.
This guy and Colon sounds nice for the Mariners! Get er done Jack Z
Pushing a car, really?
My wife has helped people push cars before that are in Neutral. It’s not that difficult.
Regardless, looks like a good prospect.
I couldn’t help but laugh at that when I saw it. The ” — seriously” mark wasn’t to denote how impressive it was, but rather how ludicrous it was to put that in the scouting video. Reminded me briefly of Cespedes’ epic video promotions.
including footage of him pushing a car — seriously
If the transmission were in the park position, I would be really impressed. =P
My thoughts exactly. Can’t wait for the footage of him carrying a hundred dollars worth of groceries into the house in one trip.
I’m surprised the Mets are gonna look at this kid. The leadoff type with plus-plus speed in CF? Sounds enticing.
If those are the only teams interested then I think it comes down to the cubs, white sox, and mariners. I only throw the mariners in because they seem to be making a real run at improving the club. However the white sox and cubs seem to do well with signing Cuban players.
The White Sox need an OF (‘guessing’ he would be an upgrade over De Aza) and already have 4 Cubans on the active roster now. Hopefully this gives them the inside track at this kid. I guess the A’s and the Dodgers could also be in the Mix in terms of comfort level, but the Dodgers have no place for this kid, and I doubt the A’s have the cash (then again they signed Cespedes). With all respects to the Mariner fans, why would this kid want to go to the place where hitters go to die?
You are right about that. Dodgers don’t need him or have a place for him. Since they have a log jam in the OF plus they just sign two IFs in the past year. So he better off with a team that needs him and the dodgers aren’t one
What pushing a car got to do anything. How does that show he a good baseball player. That just useless footage. I wonder how many scouts even care about that
I’ve heard he grades out at a 70 on car pushing. Scouts are now really looking hard at this skill.
The video doubles as his audition for Worlds Strongest Man competitions also.
He better try pulling a truck then lol
Some scouts say he’ll only be a 4th OFer, but that’s a lot better than the Cubs current rotation of Lake, Sweeney, Scheirholtz, Ruggiano. I’d love to see the Cubs make a run at him given that Almora, Schwarber, etc. are a ways off. An OF of Rusney, Alcantara, Soler next year would be a MASSIVE improvement (on paper) over the current OF.
The likelihood of Soler being in the majors at some point next year could help convince him to sign with the Cubs. One would think that having a fellow Cuban on the active roster would be appealing to him.
Some scouts said that Abreu would have a hitch in his swing that stopped him from getting to inside fastballs… Let everyone think this kids a 4th OF.
What do you think will be a fair offer for him.
4/30 to 4/40. Just a guess though
Looking forward to the eventual Cuban player video in which a dude *lifts* a car.
Brett Gardner with power is a fancy way of saying Jacoby Ellsbury with a smaller contract.
I used to think the same thing but now that I’ve been able to watch both Ellsbury and Gardner on the same team, I’m starting to notice how different the two players really are. Stats-wise they do seem very similar but they are not really the same player at all. When it comes to stealing bases, Ellsbury is much, MUCH more aggressive and will do it clutch situations. Gardner doesn’t steal as often as Ellsbury does. Although Ellsbury is a smarter base stealer, he isn’t as fast as Gardner is. When it comes to fielding, Gardner IMO is a better centerfielder than Ellsbury is. Gardner also strikes out a lot more than Ellsbury does.
And also of course the Yanks are interested. They’ve already added a second Brett Gardner last season. They love their Brett gardners.
My question is why aren’t the Jays in on him too. A brett Gardner comparison would sit nicely in the leadoff spot where 100 stolen bases would set up the rest of the batting order and Rasmus will be gone at the end of the year. This is the type of player the Jays need to bolster their offense, but then again, everyone knows that Gibbons hates the element of team speed. He proved that in 2013 when he had a team of rabbits and they finished last in stolen bases, because he refused to let them run.
“100 stolen bases would set up the rest of the batting order”
Since 1900 players have only stolen 100+ bases 8 times and 3 of those were Rickey Henderson. It hasn’t been done since 1987 almost 30 years ago. I’m going to suggest that 100 stolen bases are very unlikely to happen for this kid.
“He proved that in 2013 when he had a team of rabbits and they finished last in stolen bases, because he refused to let them run.”
The Jays finished 2013 with the 9th most stolen bases (112) in mlb with the 12th highest success rate (73.2%). Why let the facts get in the way of an already constructed narrative?
Overall, 4/10 could do better.
Spoiler Alert: The Mets will “kick the tires”, buy him a steak, not make an offer and then he will sign with someone else.
They should go for salmon. Worked for Granderson, right?
Spoiler Alert: The Mets will “kick the tires”, buy him a steak, not make an offer and then he will sign with someone else.
The M’s would have to break the bank to get a right-handed hitter to come to Seattle. Castillo looks good, but probably not worth what the M’s would have to (over)pay to sign him. If we could be certain of his defense I’d say go for it.