Simón Castro

Simón Alfonseca Castro

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 5", Weight 211 lb.

• Debut July 5, 2013
• Final Game September 30, 2017
• Born April 9, 1988 in San José de los Llanos, San Pedro de Macoris D.R.

BR page

Biographical Information

Simón Castro pitched parts of three big league seasons in odd-numbered years during the 2010s.

Castro was signed by scout Felix Francisco and international scouting director Randy Smith for the San Diego Padres at 17. He made his debut with the 2006 DSL Padres, going 1-3 with a 4.63 ERA but striking out 58 in 46 2/3 innings. In 2007, he was just 2-6 with a 6.22 ERA for the AZL Padres, with a WHIP of 1.80, though he did strike out 55 in 50 2/3 innings. He led the Arizona League in runs allowed (48) and hit batsmen (9). In 2008, the big Dominican hurler was 2-3 with a 3.99 ERA for the Eugene Emeralds, leading the Northwest League with 14 hit batsmen. Baseball America rated him the league's #14 prospect, just ahead of Tyson Gillies. In 2009, the right-hander earned San Diego Minor League Pitcher of the Year honors, improving to 10-6, 3.33 for the Fort Wayne TinCaps while leading led the Midwest League with 157 strikeouts and 10.17 strikeouts per 9 innings. He was 5th in ERA, right behind Brad Tippett.

Castro began 2010 with the San Antonio Missions and was 5-2 with a 2.69 ERA after 15 games, earning a spot on the World team for the 2010 Futures Game. Getting the start, he took the loss in a 9-1 defeat. He began by plunking Desmond Jennings then walking Dee Gordon, a wild pitch putting both in scoring position. Mike Moustakas was retired, but Domonic Brown singled home Jennings and Eric Hosmer singled in Gordon. Hank Conger lined out, but another wild pitch moved up runners again. Castro got Brett Jackson swinging on a slider to escape further damage, but the US already had enough runs and Hector Noesi replaced him in the second. Castro finished the season with a record of 7-6, 2.92 for San Antonio, then pitched a couple of games in the Pacific Coast League with the Portland Beavers, picking up a loss. He made the Texas League All-Star team, joining Douglas Arguello, Blake Beavan, Jeremy Hefner, David Kopp, Jordan Lyles and Ryan Tatusko on the staff. In 2011, Simón started the season with the Tucson Padres, who succeeded Portland as the Padres' AAA affiliate. Things did not go well in the hitter-friendly environment: in 6 starts, he was 2-2 with an ERA of 10.12 and 18 walks in 25 2/3 innings. He returned to San Antonio to find his groove again, making 16 starts with a record of 5-6 and a 4.33 ERA. Between the teams, he pitched 115 innings, giving up 132 hits, but with a good K/BB ratio of 94 to 34, belying his 5.63 ERA.

The Chicago White Sox evidently were not worried about the off-year, because he was one of two young pitchers they acquired in return for All-Star outfielder Carlos Quentin on December 31st, along with Pedro Hernandez, a fellow starter who had been a teammate at San Antonio in 2011. Castro split 2012 between the Bristol Sox (a run in 2 innings), Birmingham Barons (6-4, 3.70) and Charlotte Knights (1-1, 4.32), with only 27 walks in 117 innings. He began 2013 poorly with Charlotte (3-6, 4.92) but got called up to the majors when Brian Omogrosso was demoted. He had a very good MLB debut: relieving David Purcey in the bottom of the 6th with a 8-1 deficit against the Rays, he allowed back-to-back hits to Luke Scott and Yunel Escobar but retired 9 of the next 10 batters, four by strikeout, with only a 7th-inning walk to Evan Longoria. The White Sox still lost, 8-3. He made four appearances to a 2.70 ERA, returning in 2015 as a Colorado Rockie for 11 games (2-0, 6.10 in 11 games). He saw his last big league action in 2017 out in Oakland, making 26 appearances and finishing 1-3, 4.38. That June, he was part of a combined no-hitter with the Nashville Sounds, pitching the final inning against the Omaha Storm Chasers.

Sources

• 2010 Padres Media Guide
• 2008-2011 Baseball Almanacs

Related Sites

• Simon Castro on mlb.com
• BR Minors page