Two years ago, I was openly very irritated by the arrival of Alberto Castillo to the Oriole bullpen. I saw a guy that was 32 years-old, had reached High A ball in 1998 and was in independent leagues for the following decade.

I could read his stats, and see that he had success for AAA Norfolk. (26.1 innings, 16 hits, 6 bb’s, 26 k’s) but still did not want him anywhere around the Oriole roster. I went overboard in my dismissal of him, mainly because I wanted the O’s to take a chance on then recently released Matt Riley.

I figured if the O’s were going to be searching for a potential LOOGY, why not the guy with the existing organizational ties, who also happened to be 4 years younger. Prior to his release, Riley also had had success at the AAA level that season. (40.2 innings, 37 hits, 24 bb’s, 55 k’s).

I let my blind-spot for Riley impact what I was seeing from Castillo, and maintained that the other-shoe would drop soon enough. I was wrong.

Castillo was effective for the Birds in 28 games in 2008. He managed to pitch 26 innings, allowing 27 hits, 10 walks, with 23 k’s. Last-year for AAA Norfolk, Castillo made 50 appearances covering 52 innings. During those 52 innings, Castillo allowed 49 hits, 17 bb’s, with 54 k’s.

He also made another 20 appearances for Baltimore, pitching 12 innings, allowing 12 hits, 4 bb’s, with 8 k’s.

I should have picked-up on this sooner, but that is two consecutive seasons of effectiveness at the AAA and MLB levels. If I had been paying attention, I probably would not have been surprised at his outing tonight. He attacked the Yankees during his 1.2 innings of work, and had 3 k’s as he obtained the victory. His 91 mph fastball had good tailing life, and the New York hitters were clearly having trouble squaring-up on him.

Castillo will be 35 in July. He is not a long-term option, but he is good enough to help this team right now. There is not a lot of need for the Orioles to be carrying both him, and Ohman though.

Uehara pitched an inning of relief for AA Bowie tonight, allowing 0 hits, 0 er, 0 bb’s, with 1 k. I imagine as soon as he is deemed ready to join the Birds, that Ohman’s spot would be in danger. While Ohman has not been scored on in his 5.2 innings of work (10 appearances) he has struggled with control, and has only pitched a full-inning 3 times. Castillo pitching 1.2 innings tonight is an example of why he is more valuable to the roster.

Chris Stoner
Chris Stoner

Owner

Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.

X