Pittsburgh Pirates Top 30 Prospects 2019 Rewind: Rodolfo Castro

Checking in at number 22 on the Pittsburgh Pirates top 30 prospects of 2019 season rewind list is young infielder Rodolfo Castro

20-year-old middle infielder Rodolfo Castro is a Pittsburgh Pirates prospect that fans may not know much about. However, that is something that Castro is working hard to change.

During the 2018 campaign Castro made his Low-A debut. With the West Virginia Power, the then 18-year-old, would struggle. Castro slashed just .231/.278/.395 with a .164 ISO and a wRC+ of 89 for the Power. These struggles led to Castro repeating Low-A in 2019.

With the Pirates’ new Low-A affiliate – the Greensboro Grasshoppers – Castro found his groove once again offensively. More specifically, the switch hitter found his power stroke.

Castro slashed .242/.306/.516 in 246 plate appearances across 61 games for the Grasshoppers. To go along with an impressive slugging percentage, Castro posted a healthy .274 ISO. He collected extra base hits at a 13.5% rate, and this included mashing 14 home runs.

Castro’s success with Greensboro led to him earning a promotion to High-A Bradenton. This marked the first time in his professional career that Castro reached the High-A level.

With Bradenton, Castro played 57 games and accumulated 215 plate appearances. Castro slashed .243/.288/.391 with the Marauders. He posted a .149 ISO, a 9.4% extra base hit rate and a wRC+ of 99.

Overall, Castro’s numbers at the High-A level were nothing special. However, this was largely due to a slow start with Bradenton. To his credit, he would finish the season strong with the Marauders.

In his final 25 games of the season Castro slashed .312/.360/.462. He posted a 145 wRC+ and collected 10 of the 15 extra base hits he had for Bradenton. These 10 extra base hits included both of his home runs.

Castro will start the 2020 season with the Bradenton Marauders. Hopefully, he will pick up where he left off with his strong finis to the 2019 season. If this happens and he hits well, he could earn a promotion to Double-A Altoona later in the season.