RADIO
Willi Castro 2021 Player Outlook: A Draft Day Steal at Shortstop
4 years agoDetroit Tigers shortstop Willi Castro will look to prove himself a fantasy star at shortstop this season after finishing fourth in the AL Rookie of the Year voting in 2020. Castro stepped into the starting role at short in the second half of the season, as he slashed .349/.381/.550 with a 27.1 percent strikeout rate and 5.0 percent walk rate over 36 games. But it appears he was the beneficiary of some luck at the plate as his .448 BABIP was nearly 100 points higher than his previous career-high, and his 20.7 percent HR/FB rate was the first time in his career he posted a double-digit rate. That being said though, if Castro had finished with marks closer to his .299 xBA and .498 xSLG that would still place him among the top-10 shortstops in those categories. Castro was on pace for a 30-home run performance over a full season last year, and he has shown double-digit steal potential throughout his career in the minors — although he has yet to steal a base in the majors. If he can hit even 17 homers with a .290 average and have some of that double-digit steal potential show up in 2021, Castro could be a steal at his current ADP of 237.
