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I went to take a look at Jason Castro. He was upgraded to Double-A on June 7, 2009 and the Hooks were playing a series in nearby San Antonio, so it was an easy, 103 degree trip for me. (Thank god for light breezes!)
I took a bunch of photos which you can in this post and had a great time watching the Astros catcher of the future. (I hope.) Jason is a tall man; one of the tallest on the team. It’s unusual to see a catcher tower above the other players, but unusual in a good way.
Here are my thoughts on what I saw…
Hitting
Hitting has been a major issue in the past with the Houston catchers. When you have the best defensive catcher in the league in Brad Ausmus, you are willing to accept a much lower batting average. But Jason Castro isn’t going to come into the league as the best defensive catcher and we have seen this year that a boost to offense at that position in Pudge has made a difference in the batting order and the reaction of the opposing pitcher.
Jason’s hitting was quite good. He went 2-for-4 with a couple of well placed singles and he also scored a run. He has a solid stance and a good eye for the ball. He didn’t appear to have any problems facing better pitching, so the decision to move him up from Single-A is a good one based on offense.
Prognosis: Good
Baserunning
There really wasn’t a chance to see his baserunning abilities, but he did seem to have some good speed on the bases. This is probably due to the fact that he has really, really long legs.
Prognosis: Too Early to Tell
Game Calling
I can’t really comment on this as I feel I should see more than one game before deciding if Jason knows how to call a game. Based on the Sunday game, he isn’t good, but I really feel that was more of an issue with the pitching than him. The Hooks’ pitching staff was definitely struggling on Sunday. It was hot on the field and they didn’t appear to have their heads in the game, especially in the later innings. There was one wild pitch, but it is hard to tell if that was the pitcher blowing the pitch, Jason blowing the catch or both of them not communicating. I think we should give Jason some more time before declaring that there is a problem.
Prognosis: Average
Throwing
There were two opportunities to see him throw, one to second and one to third. The second base throw was spot on. You couldn’t have asked for better location and he got the ball there well before the runner. His reaction time was good very quick and it was definitely impressive. His throw third wasn’t as good. He was off target and even though he got the ball there on time, it was nowhere near the runner. Jason needs to work on the home-to-third throw, but his home-to-second looks great and I hope this is a sign that base stealers will be more timid when he is behind the plate. I wish Jason had had a chance to work with Ausmus on this aspect of his game. I can’t think of anyone I would want more to teach him. Pudge would be my next choice, so, hopefully, they will have a chance to speak about it at length.
Prognosis: Good, but room for improvement
Defending the Plate
This is the one aspect of the game that I really feel Jason needs some work. He seemed to struggle with some of the pitches and had a passed ball that should have been guardable. I would like to see him work on that. It might be a case of him getting used to the pitchers than anything else, but it was the one thing that we all felt he had problems with.
Prognosis: Poor
Conclusion
I am really excited about Castro. He looked good and other than a few issues behind the plate, I think he is going to be an Astro in 2011 and possibly parts of, if not all of, 2010. (Though I would prefer he get another year in the minors under his belt.) He’s exciting to watch and it looks like first pick in the 2008 draft will pay off in a big way!
