San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
COUNT CASTILLO AMONG PITCHERS WHO MIGHT HELP
The trade deadline is still more than two months away, but the Padres certainly won’t have to wait that long to add bullets to their bullpen.
Adrian Morejon and Michel Baez are already on the second stops of their Tommy John rehab tour and Drew Pomeranz is nearing his own rehab assignment. Beyond those three, another arm is forcing his way into the conversation:
Left-hander Jose Castillo.
The 26-year-old Venezuelan struck out two more batters over a scoreless inning in Triple-a El Paso’s 9-5 win over Sugar Land.
Through 102⁄3 innings this year, Castillo has allowed just one unearned run and penned a 13-to-2 strikeoutto-walk ratio while moving from low Single-a Lake Elsinore to start his rehab assignment up to El Paso, where he saw his first game action since 2019.
At that time, Castillo was coming off a stellar 2018 rookie season with the Padres in which he struck out 52 batters while compiling a 3.29 ERA and a 0.91 WHIP over 381⁄3 innings.
But Castillo missed the first four months of 2019 with a flexor strain and exited his first game back with a season-ending torn tendon in his middle finger.
A lat strain prevented Castillo from pitching in the Covid-19-shortened 2020 season, and Tommy John wiped away 2021.
Castillo was non-tendered after the season but chose to return to the Padres on a minor league deal.
To be sure, the Padres are in no need to rush Castillo — who is sitting 92-94 mph with his fastball and 83-85 mph with his slider — but he’s beginning to force his way into the conversation.
Around the farm
El Paso (AAA): SS CJ Abrams has hits in his last three games (6-for-12). He’d gone 4-for-42 (.095) after homering three times in his first two games following his demotion from San Diego. The 21-year-old infielder is
(Through Friday; min. 113 plate appearances, 33 innings pitched)
Batting average: .348 — OF Nomar Mazara (AAA)
On-base percentage: .478 — OF Esteury Ruiz (AA)
Slugging percentage: .579 — Ruiz
Homers: 11 — 1B Aderlin Rodriguez (AAA)
RBIS: 40 — Rodriguez
Steals: 33 — 2B Max Ferguson (A)
Wins: 4 — LHP Tom Cosgrove (AA), LHP Osvaldo Hernandez (AA), RHP Felix Minjarez (A+)
ERA: 3.05 — RHP Jesse Scholtens (AAA)
WHIP: 1.15 — RHP Jairo Iriarte (A)
Saves: 4 — RHP Angel Felipe (AA)
Strikeouts: 48 — LHP Robert Gasser (A+)
SO/W: 15.0 — RHP Thomas Eshelman (AA / AAA)
hitting .234/.300/.391 through his first 14 games in the Pacific Coast League.
San Antonio (AA): CF Esteury Ruiz went 0-for-5 on May 22 to snap a 44-game onbase streak that dated back to the end of the 2021 season. He’s since reached base in four straight games and is hitting .340/.478/.579 with six homers and a Texas Leaguebest 32 steals. In all of professional baseball, only Lake Elsinore INF Max Ferguson (33) has swiped more bases.
Fort Wayne (A+): OF Robert Hassell III was 3for-29 over seven games before
sitting out both games of Thursday’s doubleheader. Friday’s game was rained out. The 20-year-old is hitting .301/.371/.449 with six homers, 27 RBIS and 15 steals.
Lake Elsinore (A): Lucas Dunn, last year’s eighthround pick out of Louisville, has been a jack-of-all-trades for the Storm, starting games at third base (16), first base (6), left field (5), second base (3) and catcher (2). Dunn is hitting .312/.443/ .522 with two homers, 33 RBIS and 11 steals.
jeff.sanders@sduniontribune.com