When the Phillies were introduced on Opening Day, with the exception of Trea Turner, who, for 300 million reasons, was lustily applauded by the masses, those who were new to the Phillies received a polite reception that paled in comparison to each of the returning heroes from the memorable run to the National League pennant in 2022.

Well, almost all of the heroes.

When Public Address Announcer Dan Baker belted out the name Nick Castellanos, with the mix of excitement and rhythm that only Baker can provide, it was a little awkward in the building.

That’s because the fan reaction didn’t quite match Baker’s excitement. Again, there was polite applause, but Castellanos didn’t come close to drawing the swelling roar that most of his returning teammates received.

It was an interesting irony, because it was a lukewarm reception for a guy who often takes too much heat.

Sure, Castellanos was a big part of 2022 in a lot of ways despite his final numbers not living up to expectations when the Phillies announced they signed him prior to last season, and yes, there were times when he frustrated ardent followers because of his inability to adjust to what was being thrown at him by opposing pitchers, but he also did a lot of good that is often forgotten.

It’s easy to categorize 2022 into buckets because of how wildly different the Phillies were under Rob Thomson as manager compared to what they were under Joe Girardi. And it’s almost like, when looking back at that season, the pre-Topper era was like another lifetime.

But, in the Phillies first 36 games last season, they were 17-19 and six games out of first place. In that time, Castellanos was one of their better hitters. He slashed .286/.347/.466 with an .813 OPS. He had five homers and 21 RBI, but an even more in-depth stat is one that Baseball Reference uses called RE24 or Base-Out runs added, which measures given the bases occupied/out situation, how many runs did the batter or baserunner add to the resulting play compared to the league average, with the league average always being zero.

Castellanos, through those 36 games had an RE24 of 4.50. So that’s good.

But then there was speculation that he started dealing with a nagging wrist injury, although both Thomson and President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski said after the season that injury didn’t affect Castellanos.

While the team was improving under Thomson, Castellanos was struggling. Still, he was able to reset at the All-Star break and after the second half of the season commenced with an ugly sweep at home to the lowly Chicago Cubs, the Phillies picked it back up and started playing good baseball.

And so did Castellanos. From July 25 through September 2, Castellanos still wasn’t driving the ball with consistent extra-base power – he only had 12 extra base hits, including just five homers – but he was getting hits. In that span, Castellanos slashed .318/.348/.485 for an OPS of .833. He may have started to pick up the moniker “Nicky Singles,” but he was at least contributing offensively as the team was playing some really good baseball.

But then he suffered an oblique injury and that all but killed his momentum and made him a weakness in the lineup once he returned.

“It’s a shame because he really started to swing the bat better and then he had the oblique, which shut him down,” Dombrowski said after the season. “And we had to hurry him back, of course, for the postseason. So, it’s hard to kind of jump in after that time down and come back and hit. So, he gave it everything he could, he had some good plate appearances, but I don’t think the end of the season would be his actual best because he just didn’t have the time to come back and properly get his timing back.”

There were the great sliding catches in the post season which will always be part of the lore of the 2022 team, but aside from that, Castellanos became a target of fan criticism, which is often the case when you sign a big contract ($100 million total) and don’t seem to live up to it.

So, the fan reaction Friday was not unexpected. Nor is the short leash that many are putting on him with expectations extremely high for these Phillies. And now, with Bryce Harper still on the mend, Rhys Hoskins out for the season and Darick Hall now gone for 2-3 months with a thumb sprain that is requiring surgery, Castellanos is now expected to be the guy in the cleanup spot for the Phillies.

So, the spotlight is only going to be harsher, the patience of the fans even shorter, and the luxury of hoping for a bounce back season now becoming a necessity.

None of this is lost on Castellanos. He knew this team was going to need more from him before the injuries to Hoskins and Hall even happened.

He had a lengthy pow-wow with a few reporters at Spring Training – including me – to talk about his time spent in the offseason with Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long and a change in his approach at the plate for 2023.

A new position in the batter’s box. Seeing the ball better. Have a more selective area to be looking to swing at pitches and being aggressive on balls that are in that area. And hey, maybe pick up a few more walks to boot.

He led the Phillies in walks during Spring training with 11. He has four already in his first seven games, and probably should have had a couple more were it not for terrible strike calls from home plate umpires. He only walked 29 times in 136 games last season.

And part of that is cutting down on swinging at pitches outside the strike zone.

“It’s just about simplifying,” Castellanos said. “It’s an adjustment. It’s kind of like learning a new language a little bit, but I’m up for the challenge. So far, so good.”

Bob touched on this in his instant observations following the Phillies 5-2 Opening Day win over the Cincinnati Reds, a game in which Castellanos had two doubles – and a walk.

After a career-high 43.6% swing rate at pitches out of the zone in 2022, Castellanos has trimmed that down to 26.8% through the first seven games.

Adding to Bob’s tweet, it’s not just Pitch 5, but pitches 3 and 6 too. Teams are still pitching him down and away, and Castelllanos is laying off about three quarters of them. This at bat alone is a microcosm of his whole change in approach.

It’s likely why he’s off to a solid start for the Phillies. His five doubles so far are tops in all of baseball. And more impressively, he is seeing a lot of pitches.

“It’s a byproduct of staying back, keeping your head still and seeing the ball as long as you can,” Thomson said.  “You’re not rushing towards the ball. He had really good at bats in spring training and he’s had good at bats so far and today was probably his best day of them all.”

He’s gone to a full count in seven of his 29 plate appearances so far this season (24.1%). In 2022 he reached a full count just 67 times in 558 plate appearances (12.0%).

Even more impressive so far, Castellanos has either been ahead in the count or even in the count in 22 of the 29 plate appearances this season (75.9%) as compared to 2022 when he was ahead or even in only 62.9% of his plate appearances.

“It’s been about refining it a little bit,” Castellanos said. “In the past I had a lot of success hitting at the top of the order and having protection behind me so I could just go up there and attack the game, you know? Hitting in the middle of the lineup here, pitchers are going to take advantage of that ‘blind aggressiveness.’ It’s kind of me learning that and adjusting to being what the team needs me to be.”

Yes, it’s a small sample size. And Castellanos has to stick with it and not succumb to the pressure to be a middle of the order bomber to try and replace the power that is seriously missing from the Phillies lineup at the moment.

And he was pumped about his performance. It translated on the field. Both doubles celebrations were more animated than usual for Nick. Once he was on third base with the bases loaded, and the fans getting on Reds starter Hunter Greene, who was struggling to find the plate for a bit, Nick was fist pumping on balls. He was walking down the line into Greene’s line of vision as he was delivering pitches, adding to the distraction of pitching in front of a rabid Phillies crowd. And with each ball Greene threw, Castellanos did a little, lively retreat back to the bag, celebrating each bad pitch. Was he intentionally trying to get in Greene’s head?

I asked him.

Before answering, Nick looked around the room to see if anyone else was paying attention, then looked back at me with a Cheshire Cat-like grin and said, “Maybe.”

Then, after a pause, he added, “If you want to give me credit for that, go right ahead.”

He just seems more comfortable in his Phillies skin this season. After all, who can blame him. In the span of two years, seven months and 19 days he had to move his family from Detroit to Chicago to Cincinnati to Philadelphia. Sometimes it’s easy to forget the every-day challenges pro athletes face in these situations.

Now, he’s more comfortable here. Now, a part of the Philadelphia culture and scene, with his family settled, a rewarding contract and a new approach to the only job that has ever mattered to him, Castellanos is ready to embrace his role with the Phillies and deliver.

If he can stay this course and remain on a path of selectivity and patience, some power will come with it, but more importantly, he will be the productive hitter everyone wants him to be and he can be a guy who hears more of the cheers and less of the jeers.