Luis Castillo

The soft decline of Castillo's career started to show in 2025, even though he had a fine season. The veteran right-hander went 11-8 with a 3.54 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP, and 162 strikeouts in 180 innings. If we dive into the numbers a bit more, we start to see that soft decline: a reduced strikeout rate of 21.7%, decreasing annually from 27.3% in 2023. The hard hit rate was aread more...

The soft decline of Castillo's career started to show in 2025, even though he had a fine season. The veteran right-hander went 11-8 with a 3.54 ERA, a 1.18 WHIP, and 162 strikeouts in 180 innings. If we dive into the numbers a bit more, we start to see that soft decline: a reduced strikeout rate of 21.7%, decreasing annually from 27.3% in 2023. The hard hit rate was a career-worst 46.4% last season. His xERA was 4.05. Castillo also lost a half tick from his legendary fastball. The point here is that he is still useful for a fantasy squad, but Castillo no longer offers top starter production. If you draft him expecting that, you will likely face disappointment. Castillo will slot into the Mariners' stout rotation as their number three starter. As long as you remain aware that this is not ace-level Castillo any longer, he makes for a fine addition as a number three or four starter on your fantasy roster. His current ADP of 177 shows us that players are seeing the trend and are concerned, but Castillo should have enough gas in the tank to remain a viable fantasy starter in 2026. Expect 10-12 wins, an ERA around 4, and 150+ strikeouts.less...