Angels sign Jason Castro (1 year, $6.85M)

[Pancake Bear]

5 minutes ago, totdprods said:

I mentioned it earlier, but I wonder if there’s a chance Reed can work some of the left-handed power boost magic he’s done with Calhoun, La Stella, and Thaiss. Seem to have similar things going between them and Castro. 

Could be just an odd blip - pitchers adjusted and that was that. Or could be there's some swing change that he kind've struggled with consistency on as year progressed. Not too concerned either way, but there's a possibility of some upside, maybe.

[Inside Pitch]

So.. If you're looking for positives....

Jason Castro career .vs RHP  2029 ABs -- .243/.329/.421-.750

Just never let him face a LHP.

[Lou]

1 minute ago, Inside Pitch said:

So.. If you're looking for positives....

Jason Castro career .vs RHP  2029 ABs -- .243/.329/.421-.750

Just never let him face a LHP.

do we have a catcher that can hit LHP?

[ettin]

5 minutes ago, Inside Pitch said:

So.. If you're looking for positives....

Jason Castro career .vs RHP  2029 ABs -- .243/.329/.421-.750

Just never let him face a LHP.

Are you sure?

Max Stassi career vs. LHP:

Jason Castro career vs. LHP:

[ettin]

4 minutes ago, Lou said:

do we have a catcher that can hit LHP?

No we do not and Stassi looks like he is here to stay so I don't think anything is going to change.

[Lou]

3 minutes ago, ettin said:

No we do not and Stassi looks like he is here to stay so I don't think anything is going to change.

[Angel Oracle]

Nothing wrong with career numbers of:

.231/.313/.390/.703, for a catcher

[hangin n wangin]

Stassi is kind of a piece of shit lol the left hand thing is kind of annoying if they both won’t hit the ball against those pitchers... but we still have a solid line up to overcome that. It can just be freaking annoying to watch when you pretty much know a player is going to be out...

[Inside Pitch]

42 minutes ago, ettin said:

Are you sure?

Max Stassi career vs. LHP:

Jason Castro career vs. LHP:

Yes I'm sure.... They also shouldn't let Stassi hit at all.

47 minutes ago, Lou said:

do we have a catcher that can hit LHP?

Noooooope....   

We best have a pinch hitter that can murder LHPs...

[Inside Pitch]

15 minutes ago, hangin n wangin said:

Stassi is kind of a piece of shit lol the left hand thing is kind of annoying if they both won’t hit the ball against those pitchers... but we still have a solid line up to overcome that. It can just be freaking annoying to watch when you pretty much know a player is going to be out...

"Stassi is kind of a piece of shit" has a good vibe to it....

[tdawg87]

More like Minimum Stassi.

[Lou]

14 minutes ago, tdawg87 said:

More like Minimum Stassi.

you took a lot of naps over the holidays, didn't you?

[Tank]

5 hours ago, tdawg87 said:

Toto > Styx.

Styx has a cool name, but is mostly gay, like Glen. 

Toto has a gay name, but is mostly awesome, like Tank.

Hold the line, boys. The gig is up, the news is out, they finally found me.

[ten ocho recon scout]

12 hours ago, Pancake Bear said:

Sanchezovernight, 

That sounds like something gross you do to a girl in your 20s

[Lou]

11 minutes ago, ten ocho recon scout said:

That sounds like something gross you do to a girl in your 20s

it is 

[Keener]

15 hours ago, Tank said:

Hold the line, boys. The gig is up, the news is out, they finally found me.

The renegade that had it made...

[disarcina]

if it's Castro and Stassi behind the plate for the Halos in  2020- expect about a combined ,.235 BA from that position.

if they can frame pitches well, gain the confidence and respect of the umpiring crew and pitching staff - and be solid defensively then .235 from the catching spot will work with the 2020 Halos line up.

as for the respect of the umpiring crew -- good catchers have a rapport and respect not only with their pitching staff but with the umps.........when its YADIER framing pitches the St, Louis staff gets more than their share of those close pitches called strikes -- over 162 games (YADIER has averaged about 145 games per season behind the plate -- probably places him in the top ten (perhaps five) all time in games caught behind the plate and average games caught per year -- Bob Boone like numbers) but over 145 games those close calls going your way make a difference.

[disarcina]

Just now, disarcina said:

if it's Castro and Stassi behind the plate for the Halos in  2020- expect about a combined ,.235 BA from that position.

if they can frame pitches well, gain the confidence and respect of the umpiring crew and pitching staff - and be solid defensively then .235 from the catching spot will work with the 2020 Halos line up.

as for the respect of the umpiring crew -- good catchers have a rapport and respect not only with their pitching staff but with the umps.........when its YADIER framing pitches the St, Louis staff gets more than their share of those close pitches called strikes -- over 162 games (YADIER has averaged about 145 games per season behind the plate -- probably places him in the top ten (perhaps five) all time in games caught behind the plate and average games caught per year -- Bob Boone like numbers) but over 145 games those close calls going your way make a difference.

ADD: Castro and Stassi should work on their bunting skills in Tempe this ST --

[Pancake Bear]

3 hours ago, disarcina said:

if it's Castro and Stassi behind the plate for the Halos in  2020- expect about a combined ,.235 BA from that position.

Castro last year was basically Calhoun with AVG and OBP (both .232 AVG, Castro with a superior .332 OBP to Calhoun’s .325). Calhoun had quite a few more home runs, but also had twice as many at bats. Despite that, Kole’s wRC+ was only a bit better (108 to 103) and his WAR, despite double the playing time, was 2.5 to 1.6. 

If Castro is anything like last year, his bat will not be an issue unless we’re expecting a well above average hitter (his wRC+ places him as slightly above league average at the plate in 2019).

Stassi...we’ll, we can hope for the best.  His 2018 was substantially better - basically league average - at the plate than his 2019. 

[zenmaster]

I wish we'd sign another catcher. I'm not sure Stassi or Bemboom have any business being on a major league roster.

[Stradling]

3 minutes ago, zenmaster said:

I wish we'd sign another catcher. I'm not sure Stassi or Bemboom have any business being on a major league roster.

Stassi is projected to be a 2.5 WAR player this coming year, or was prior to the Castro signing. 

[zenmaster]

2 minutes ago, Stradling said:

Stassi is projected to be a 2.5 WAR player this coming year, or was prior to the Castro signing. 

This has to be based on 100% defense and/or pitch framing. The dude has a career .200 average. He couldn't hit the side of a barn last year and looked completely lost at the plate.

[Stradling]

Just now, zenmaster said:

This has to be based on 100% defense and/or pitch framing. The dude has a career .200 average. He couldn't hit the side of a barn last year and looked completely lost at the plate.

Im sure it is.  But wins are wins. 

[totdprods]

Couple things also on Stassi...he was a pretty good hitter in the minors (though Mathis was too) and catchers tend to take a few years of consistent playing time before their offense comes around, especially guys who are more defense-first. Stassi is still relatively young. In no way is he a sure thing, but his ‘18 season shows there’s a chance he could be a league average, .220/.300/.400/.700 100 OPS+ guy. With good defense, that’s a 2-3 WAR catcher pretty easily. Not far from Maldonado.

[Jeff Fletcher]

16 minutes ago, totdprods said:

Couple things also on Stassi...he was a pretty good hitter in the minors (though Mathis was too) and catchers tend to take a few years of consistent playing time before their offense comes around, especially guys who are more defense-first. Stassi is still relatively young. In no way is he a sure thing, but his ‘18 season shows there’s a chance he could be a league average, .220/.300/.400/.700 100 OPS+ guy. With good defense, that’s a 2-3 WAR catcher pretty easily. Not far from Maldonado.