How Reds’ Castellanos grew into a top hitter
Nick Castellanos called himself “very naïve” when he opened his career on star-studded Detroit Tigers teams, winning the division when he was a September call-up in 2013 and his rookie year in 2014.
He expected to win often and be on a playoff team every year.
Instead, he went six seasons without a postseason appearance as the Tigers eventually entered a rebuilding phase.
It's not something he takes for granted anymore. Winning is always on the front of his mind. He signed with the Cincinnati Reds as a free agent ahead of the 2020 season because their starting pitching reminded him of Detroit's top pitching staff. He plays with noticeable intensity.
“I don't like to play baseball for collecting statistics,” he said. “I think it's boring, stressful and not the right way to play.”
There's been a lot of growth to reach this point. Castellanos was the young player on a team full of veterans at the beginning of his career and there wasn't patience for rookie mistakes.
J.D. Martinez, now with the Red Sox, was in his fourth big-league season when he joined the Tigers in 2014. It was Castellanos' rookie year, and Martinez said Miguel Cabrera put him in charge of “babysitting duties” for the 22-year-old.
“I was like, ‘dude, you could hit .300 in the big leagues.'” Martinez said. “The first thing he says, ‘you think I could hit .300?' I was like, ‘yeah, I wouldn't be wasting my time with you if I didn't think you had that in you.' He started laughing.
“I think he got older and he started believing it.”
How talkative was a young Castellanos?
“We had a board and it was called Nickisms,” Martinez said. “It was all the weird things he would say.”
Castellanos may have been the young guy, but everyone saw the talent in his swing. Now Castellanos is competing for this year's batting title.
“Nick was that kid that always could hit,” Martinez said. “Just kind of had to grow up in a sense as a hitter, and he's doing that now. He's really taken off in the last couple of years.”