2021 Draft Target: C Adrian del Castillo

 

Adrian del Castillo

 

C Miami 

 

Fish Stripes -

 

Adrian Del Castillo, C, University of Miami

 

A Miami kid and graduate of Gulliver Prep just outside the city, Del Castillo is a highly decorated young player with a long track record of hitting at high levels of play. He was a top five round talent out of high school in 2018, with one of the more advanced bats in the prep class, but had a strong commitment to his hometown Hurricanes and wasn’t selected until the 36th round by the White Sox. As expected, he headed to college, where he has done nothing but build on his reputation since.

 

As a freshman in 2019, Del Castillo set the ACC ablaze with a .331/.418/.576 slash line in 61 games, accumulating 12 bombs while walking 32 times against just 24 strikeouts. With all the momentum in the world, he’d head to the Cape, where he managed a .261/.311/.420 line, showing significantly less power with the wood bats and also striking out more in 148 plate appearances (32) than he had in 282 regular season trips. This was a significant downturn in performance, but that says more about how good he’d been in NCAA play than anything. When play got underway in 2020, he was better than ever for the Canes, slashing .358/.478/.547 with a pair of homers and 11 walks against 8 Ks before the season ended prematurely. 

 

Del Castillo’s profile hasn’t changed so much as crystalized since his prep days—he’s a plus hitter for contact with average raw power that he is able to maximize in a game setting, taking his biggest swings when he recognizes mistake pitches and lofting them to the pull side, while taking a more all fields line drive approach generally. It’s been a recipe for success for him at all levels of play thus far, and there’s no reason to believe that couldn’t continue to the highest levels. Evaluators aren’t in love with his defensive skills behind the plate, but most still project him as a catcher long term. His receiving skills are solid, and while his arm strength isn’t premium he comes out of his crouch pretty well and delivers on target throws most of the time. He’s not going to be a gold glover back there and could split time between catcher and first base, but most are hopeful he can at least soak up some starts there in the pros, and there are those that see him as a primary backstop.

 

Look for Del Castillo to go somewhere in the top half of the first round in 2021, with the top-5 within the realm of possibility.

 

MLB -   

4. Adrian del Castillo, C, Miami  -  Del Castillo combines power and plate discipline better than anyone in the 2021 college pool, having provided more extra-base hits (39) and walks (43) than strikeouts (32) in 77 games during his first two seasons at Miami. Scouts are sold on his left-handed bat and power, though his fringy arm strength and receiving will have to improve if he's going to remain behind the plate. 

 

Diamond Digest -    

11) Adrian Del Castillo, C, Miami

Del Castillo is one of the more advanced bats in this entire draft, but what really holds him back is his lack of a clear defensive home. When looking at Del Castillo’s stats, the thing that jumps out is the disparity between his performance as Miami and his one summer in the Cape Cod League. In 349 plate appearances as a Hurricane, Del Castillo has put a fantastic 9.2% strikeout rate. On the Cape in 2019, his strikeout rate was 21.6%. Obviously his sample size with Miami is much larger, but it is still fascinating nonetheless. When watching him play for the Hurricanes, it is easy to see why he puts the ball in play so often. He has a smooth left-handed swing and he controls the barrel very well, whacking pitches at all parts of the strike zone. Del Castillo’s ability to adjust to different pitches and hit the ball to all fields is impressive. He has hit for some power, too. His raw power is at least above-average and may even be plus, and his swing path and added strength suggest that he can hit anywhere from 12-17 homers a year at the big league level. The only real problem with Del Castillo offensively is that he does sometimes look uncomfortable against pitches that break away from him. When watching him, I noticed that he was bailing out against really good changeups from right handers that broke away from him, and he shows similar tendencies against left-handed breaking balls. It may prove to not be a big deal, but it may also prove to be a situation in which Del Castillo hits righties better than he hits lefties. Defensively, Del Castillo has played both catcher and corner outfield at Miami. He hasn’t caught much for the Hurricanes because there are concerns with his overall defense at the position, and he has not looked very comfortable in the outfield, either. He gets poor jumps and reads off the bat, and takes inefficient routes to the ball. Del Castillo’s below-average foot speed and first step also do not bode well for his ability to create range at the position. Del Castillo does have an above average arm that fits in RF, but his lack of range may relegate him to an eventual 1B/DH role. If Del Castillo shows a better feel for either catcher or right field this year while maintaining his superb contact skills, he can shoot up this board in a hurry. 

 

 Pitcher List -

 

7. Adrian Del Castillo, C, Miami

 

It’s hard not to compare Adrian Del Castillo to the last superstar catcher at Miami, Zack Collins. Where they went to school and their position, however, are where the comparisons stop. Yes, both were very good stepping behind the plate as freshmen. But the difference is that Del Castillo shows more of an ability to stay at the position and a much sounder approach — which means that he’s already more skilled than Collins both defensively and at the plate. Del Castillo could have above average power, but not as much as Collins.

Lookout Landing -

 

Any time you come across a hitter with a plus hit tool and a plus power tool, you take notice. Those types of bats don’t grow on trees, and there’s often just a couple in every draft class. Del Castillo has the chance to be the best hitter from the 2021 class and whoever selects him may hear his named called in a big league stadium in 2023. Del Castillo has a reasonably good chance to be the very first hitter called up from this draft class and should represent a middle-of-the-lineup stick very soon.

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