Atlanta Braves Scouting Report on 1B Carlos Castro

Scouting Report

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Castro is listed at 6’1 and 195 pounds. He’s a right-handed hitter and thrower. I’d wager he’s a thicker guy than 195, but not in bad weight and he has surprising athleticism.

Hitting

Castro has a very similar swing and hitting approach to Jose Bautista. He went from a swing that was in the zone for a long time and more level in 2015 to a swing now that has a big finish over his left shoulder and a big load at the back end.

Castro begins his swing set up open in the box. His step toward the plate opens his hips, however, allowing him to access his big power in his lower body. Castro starts everything with a high leg kick. His swing is long in his new stance, but it is notable that he worked to change his approach as the season went on to cut down on his strikeouts and to make better contact in his at bats. I don’t foresee Castro ever being a .300 hitter, but it’s notable that he hit .323/.337/.505 in August as you really saw the results of that swing change.

Castro still has some major work to do in pitch recognition and has never been a guy who has walked much as he’s worked his way up the chain, so this may take some time to get ingrained.

Base Running/Fielding

Castro is a surprising athlete for a first baseman. He has 11 triples and 11 stolen bases in under 1,000 minor league plate appearances for a reason. His quick-twitch movements help him to get excellent first steps toward first-to-third movements and even stolen bases when he has a good read. I was very impressed with his top end speed as well once he got going.

Castro’s got some flexibility at first that comes with his athleticism, and he has a strong throwing arm that he once displayed at catcher. Of course, that arm doesn’t come into play often at first base, but he is a guy that can make a hard throw if need be. Between he and Juan Yepez, Rome was blessed with two first basemen who could make a strong throw when needed. His glove work on ground balls still could use some work, but he does well receiving from his infielders.

Video

Next: Future outlook