Jesse Castillo

Jesus E. Castillo
(Jesse)

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 190 lb.

• Born March 3, 1983 in Mexicali, Baja California Mexico

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Jesus Castillo debuted with the Yucatan Lions in 2004. In 2005, he went 10 for 39 with a double, triple, homer and 3 walks. As a semi-regular in 2006, he hit .321/.426/.400 for Yucatan. Starting at third base by 2007, he batted .267/.356/.358, followed by .324/.393/.423 in 2008. In 2009, he put up a .284/.424/.393 line with 77 walks in 97 games. He tied Ruben Rivera for 5th in the Mexican League in walks. Moving to the Veracruz Eagle for 2010, he hit .293/.375/.393. He played for the Mexican national team that won the Silver Medal at the 2010 Central American and Caribbean Games.

He hit .295/.375/.428 for the 2011 Tabasco Olmecas, fielding .974 at the hot corner. In the winter, he hit .200/.294/.278 for the Naranjeros de Hermosillo. He batted .326/.396/.429 for Tabasco in the summer of 2012; in the winter, he posted a .292/.378/.445 batting line for the Mazatlan Deer. He opened 2013 back with Tabasco and hit .314/.412/.362 in 53 games, ending the year with the revived Rieleros de Aguascalientes (4 for 22, 2B, 4 BB). He had a rough winter for the Deer - .222/.278/.233. At age 31, he had a big year for the Rieleros in 2014, hitting .335/.417/.526 with 17 home runs, 91 RBI and 14 steals in 16 tries while transitioning from third base to first base. He was 7th in the LMB in RBI (between Luis Garcia and Willis Otanez) and 10th in OBP. For Mazatlan in 2014-2015, he posted a .301/.392/.389 batting line with only one homer in 64 games after his strong summer total; he did draw 33 walks. He was 4th in the Mexican Pacific League in walks (between Joan Carlos Pedroso and Juan Gamboa) and 4th in OBP (between Manny Rodriguez and Maxwell León).

In 2015, he had his best year yet - .361/.447/.572, 35 2B, 17 HR, 15 SB (only 5 CS), 88 R, 67 BB. He finished second in average (.002 behind Jesús Valdez), 3rd in OBP (after Juan Miranda and Saúl Soto), 5th in slugging (between Soto and Valdez), 4th in OPS (between Soto and Félix Pérez), tied Olmo Rosario for third in runs, 2nd in doubles (two behind Travis Denker) and 3rd in total bases (behind Japhet Amador and Jorge Cantú). For the winter, he hit .292/.386/.446 with 32 RBI in 68 games for the Mayos de Navojoa; his 8 home runs were 9th in the league. He was the DH for Mexico in the 2016 World Baseball Classic Qualifiers, going 1 for 6 with a run and two RBI; his lone hit came in their first inning, off Marek Červenka to score Esteban Quiroz with Mexico's first run; they only beat the Czech national team 2-1 but then crushed Nicaragua twice to punch their ticket to the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

The Mexicali native hit .342/.434/.500 with 73 runs and 67 walks in 107 games for the 2016 Rieleros. He was 7th in the league in average (between Ramón Ríos and Sandy Madera), 3rd in OBP (behind only Rubén Sosa and Quiroz), tied for fifth in runs and was 5th in walks. He hit .302/.399/.439 with 38 walks and 46 RBI in 60 games in the winter, tying Joey Meneses for third in the LMP in wRBI and tying Leo Heras for second in walks. For the 2017 Caribbean Series, he reinforced his hometown Mexicali Eagles, going 0 for 5 but with two runs and a RBI.