Juan Castro is Filling in Nicely

Everything was going well for Jimmy Rollins. He was batting .391 with a home run. His improved patience led to an increased number of walks, and a .516 on-base percentage. His extra base hits gave him a .739 slugging percentage. Once he got on base, he scored. He was red hot. The last thing we all wanted to see was for him to get hurt. But it happened. Rollins landed on the disabled list with a calf injury.

Then, it became Juan Castro’s turn.

During the off season, Ruben Amaro’s task was to bolster the bench. Juan Castro, who had a minor league deal with the Dodgers in 2009, was available. It was known that defense was his strong point, and in 112 at-bats, he batted .277. Amaro signed Castro and he was almost guaranteed a major league roster spot. With a star-studded lineup, playing time would be scarce, unless an injury such as Rollins’ were to occur.

Once Rollins went down, it was unclear as to how Castro would fill in. So far, there are not many complaints. He is no Jimmy Rollins, however he has a .324 average and seven RBIs in ten games. He has also flashed some leather on the field. Both offensively and defensively, Castro has been far better than last year’s sub, Eric Bruntlett.

While we are all anticipating the return of Jimmy Rollins, there is no question that Castro has done his job. He has played very well in this short period of time. If his hitting continues, he could be a decent pinch hitter in the near future.