Jason Castro signed a contract on Saturday, July 12 starting his career as the Houston Astros catcher of the future. The Stanford man became only the second player drafted in the top ten to sign with a team and he is already on his way to starting summer play.
Castro will begin his minor league stint on Monday with the Tri-City ValleyCats and the ValleyCats appear to be very excited to have him.
“We have a heard a lot about Jason Castro,” said ValleyCats Manager Pete Rancont. “It is exciting to have him as a member of the Astros family and hopefully this is just the first stop on his way to Houston.”
It is so good to get this deal done especially after the Astro failed to signed their top pick last year. Everything I have read on Jason Castro has been great. He is a good player with great leadership skills and a great personality off the field.
“He’s a complete player,” Bobby Heck said. “He’s an athletic catcher who’s offensive. He has defensive abilities and skills but is also very intelligent, because there is a mental demand on that position. With the Stanford pedigree, he qualifies there.”
Speaking of his Stanford background, we have another catcher in the organization who has attended at top-notch school known for its above average intelligence. I am sure that Brad Ausmus is going to enjoy having another braniac on the team.
Of course, by the time Castro makes the big leagues, Ausmus should be retired, but everybody knows that Brad is on his way to being a big league coach. It would be nice to see him as the Astros bench coach when Jason is a rookie. I think it would be a great influence on the young catcher.
Now that Castro has been signed, the Astros need to concentrate on finishing up negotiations with Georgia high schooler Charles Davidson and Houston-native Ross Seaton, their 4th and 5th picks in the 2008 draft.
