Fantasy Baseball: Reds Luis Castillo a second-half weapon?

Luis Castillo is quietly pitching great since being promoted by the Reds. But, can fantasy owners target him as a waiver wire add looking toward the second half?

The All-Star break brings about time to reflect on those fantasy players that let us down and/or have carried us, but also a look towards the second half in search of those that could help us the rest of the way. The Cincinnati Reds are clearly in a rebuild mode, but they do not lack their fair share of talent. But, one player, in particular, has started to quietly emerge.

That man is, Luis Castillo.

Luis Catillo is a 24-year-old Dominican fireballer that the Reds got in the Dan Straily deal from the Marlins. While Straily is throwing the ball great right now, Reds’ fans can not help but to be excited by what Castillo could become. Over six seasons in the minors, he posted an impressive 2.66 ERA over 54 starts.

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He ascended the minors reaching AA in 2016 and started there to begin this season. With the Reds having multiple holes in their rotation, Castillo forced Cincinnati’s hand in promoting him after posting a 2.58 ERA/81 K/13 BB over 14 starts in 2017.

He made his debut versus the Nationals on June 23, and since that point has amassed 23 solid innings. Castillo’s arsenal supports his success. With easy gas, his fastball touched 101 mph in his last start, now utilizing his slider a bit more to keep batters guessing, and has continually flashed his changeup. The ability to command his fastball with such velocity is a huge advantage of course, but his changeup is serving to be just as effective.

The slider still needs to be refined, but the raw stuff is just undeniable, and his teammates are already comparing him to some impressive company.

Looking at his batted ball data, even though it has just been four starts, the ratios still impress. He has surrendered only a 7% LD, with solid 57% GB and 36% contact rates. Combine that with a 3.57 SIERA, and the arrows continue to point up.

One other impressive note,  are the lineups that Castillo has succeeded against. So far, he has faced the cream of the crop in terms of NL lineups as he has pitched versus the Nationals, Rockies, Brewers, and Diamondbacks. Therefore, with only surrendering 22 hits, walking only three batters, and striking out 30 in the process, Castillo is showing that he can hang with the best.

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The Reds’ lineup has the talent to offer decent run support for those worried about Wins, but his peripherals are great and fantasy owners should definitely believe in the arsenal nonetheless.

His first start after the break will come versus the Nats again, whom he limited to two runs over five innings while striking out 5 in his debut, so he will look to keep things going.

Give him a closer look off the waiver wire.