Phillies

The Phillies May or May Not Be in on the Cuban Guy Who Projects to Be an Average Major League Player

By Kyle Scott

Published: Aug 21st, 2014 · 3:51 PM EDT

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The Phillies are reportedly one of the five finalists to land Cuban defector Rusney Castillo. The Phillies are reportedly not one of the three finalists to land Rusney Castillo. They probably won’t land Rusney Castillo.

Anyway, there’s a lot of hype surrounding the guy – perhaps because he’s represented by Jay-Z, perhaps because the media loves salivating over Cuban defectors – but, by all accounts, he doesn’t project to be a star, even though he’s projected to earn anywhere between $35 and $60 million over five or so years

From Baseball America:

Before Castillo’s rapid strength increase, he was a similar player to Rajai Davis, a 5-foot-9, 195-pound righthanded-hitting outfielder, when they were the same age. Davis, now 33, was another similarly-built speedster who could play center field with an aggressive hitting approach, a solid bat and occasional power, with an underappreciated skill set for a player who was often thought of as a fourth outfielder himself.

From Mass Live:

At the plate, he’s shown a lack of discipline and will swing at pitches off the plate, though it might be unfair to call him a “free-swinger.” The belief is that his line drive approach will play more consistently than the long swing he’s occasionally displayed.

Because Castillo has been hitting the ball with more authority since he added the muscle, “he’s maybe not a super star player, but certainly a solid every-day guy,” Badler said.

In other words: He’s a versatile outfielder who’s added some muscle since coming to the States, but projects to be a generic, free-swinging utility player who’ll be given a massive contract before ever seeing one pitch in the Majors. No wonder why Ruben’s interested!