Jason Castro

Jason Castro

37-Year-Old CatcherC
 Free Agent  
Free Agent
2024 Fantasy Outlook
There was no outlook written for Jason Castro in 2024. Check out the latest news below for more on his current fantasy value.
RANKS
Rest of Season
From Preseason
$Signed a two-year, $7 million contract with the Astros in January of 2021.
Hangs up cleats
CFree Agent  
December 2, 2022
Castro announced his retirement from baseball Friday.
ANALYSIS
After 12 years in the big leagues with four different teams, Castro has officially caught his final pitch from behind home plate. The one-time All-Star finishes his career with a .227/.312/.387 slash line, 97 home runs and 325 RBI.
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Batting Stats
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2022
2021
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Left/Right Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
-100%
OPS vs RHP
2024
No Stats
2023
No Stats
2022
 
 
-100%
OPS vs RHP
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022vs Left .000 9 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
Since 2022vs Right .431 79 5 1 3 1 .130 .228 .203
2024vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Left 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023vs Right 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022vs Left .000 9 1 0 0 0 .000 .000 .000
2022vs Right .431 79 5 1 3 1 .130 .228 .203
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Home/Away Batting Splits
Since 2022
 
 
+19%
OPS at Home
2024
No Stats
2023
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2022
 
 
+19%
OPS at Home
OPS PA R HR RBI SB AVG OBP SLG
Since 2022Home .425 34 3 0 1 0 .188 .206 .219
Since 2022Away .356 54 3 1 2 1 .065 .204 .152
2024Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2024Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Home 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2023Away 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2022Home .425 34 3 0 1 0 .188 .206 .219
2022Away .356 54 3 1 2 1 .065 .204 .152
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Recent RotoWire Articles Featuring Jason Castro See More
AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
July 24, 2022
Erik Siegrist looks over the slim pickings on AL waiver wires and thinks it might be a good time to stash a spec saves option like A.J. Puk.
AL FAAB Factor: Waiver Pickups of the Week
July 3, 2022
Erik Siegrist reviews the free-agent pool in the American League as top prospect Vinnie Pasquantino gets his first look at big-league pitching with the Royals.
The Z Files: Sometimes, Crime Does Pay
May 20, 2022
Todd Zola examines the league-wide stolen-base environment and identifies some speedy players who could be valuable as streaming options, including Andres Gimenez.
Bernie on the Scene: My Catcher Rankings for 2022
February 28, 2022
Bernie Pleskoff begins a series of columns devoted to position rankings for fantasy, starting with catchers, where Salvador Perez is at the top of the list.
Playoff Primer: The Rankings
October 5, 2021
Todd Zola ranks players by position for fantasy playoff leagues. Chicago's Jose Abreu is tough to beat at first base.
Past Fantasy Outlooks
2022
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2012
2011
2010
2009
Castgro is in line to serve as the primary backup to No. 1 catcher Martin Maldonado, a role that will likely afford Castro anywhere from one to three starts per week.
Castro begin 2020 as the Angels' primary catcher, expected to get the call whenever a right-hander was on the mound for the opposition. As the season progressed, he began ceding starts to the hot-hitting Max Stassi. On Aug. 30, Castro was slashing just .192/.323/.385 when he was traded to the Padres. Castro served as Austin Nola's backup down the stretch but posted an even-worse .179/.233/.357 line for playoff-bound San Diego club. Castro's defense is still above average, including solid framing skills, and despite last season's woes at the plate, he has some pop. Those skills landed Castro a two-year deal with the Astros, the team he broke in with over a decade ago now. His BA remains a liability as Castro's strikeout rate has been north of 30% five of the past six seasons, but in today's catcher landscape, he's very much in the mix as a second catcher in deep leagues requiring two backstops.
Castro had the second-best offensive season of his career after missing almost all of 2018 due to a knee injury. He hit 13 home runs with a 103 wRC+ while playing good defense. Minnesota limited Castro's playing time to keep him fresh and played him mostly against right-handed pitching (83.6% of PA). He was just slightly above average in pitch framing according to Baseball Savant's Strike Rate, but has had a good reputation for helping a pitching staff behind the plate and the Angels will be hoping he does just that with their revamped staff after signing Castro to a one-year, $6.85 million deal. Castro can help a fantasy team if his playing time is limited as he has decent power (.203 ISO) and a good eye at the plate (12 BB%). However, Castro has sharp platoon splits (career .553 OPS vs. lefties, .750 vs. righties) and his struggles against lefties will hurt his averages with more exposure.
Castro played just 19 games last season after requiring season-ending surgery in May to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee. When healthy, he provides strong defense behind the plate, pitch framing skills that help the staff, some power at the dish (.146 ISO in 2017) and decent on-base ability (.333 OBP). Castro draws walks at a good clip (11.1% in 2017) and had hit 10 or more home runs in five consecutive seasons before last year. However, it's not a guarantee he returns to his previous form since he tore the same meniscus and also recovered from an ACL tear earlier in his career. He should face increased competition for playing time with Mitch Garver and Willians Astudillo showing promise in his absence. Given his contract (due $8 million this year, free agent in 2020), Castro may enter camp as the favorite, but it should be a fluid depth chart, with the younger options likely displacing the veteran at some point.
Castro stabilized Minnesota's catching position last season as the Twins got exactly what they expected in the first year of his three-year, $24.5 million contract. He provided strong defense behind the plate, pitch framing skills that helped the staff, some power at the plate (.146 ISO) and decent on-base ability (.333 OBP). Castro draws walks at a good clip (11.1 percent) and has hit 10 or more home runs in five consecutive seasons. His .720 OPS ranked 23rd out of 33 big-league catchers with 300 or more plate appearances (11th out of 15 in the AL). That makes him relevant in AL-only leagues and two-catcher mixers, but he should be an afterthought in one-catcher mixed leagues. Mitch Garver, a catching prospect who turned 27 in January, may have slightly more offensive upside, but Castro has the clear edge on defense, so he should continue to get the bulk of playing time for the Twins behind the plate.
Best known for his receiving skills, Castro failed to hit above .225 or break 15 home runs for the third straight year, although he saw plenty of at-bats as Houston's primary catcher over that span. Castro has been a particular liability in leagues that penalize strikeouts, as he's whiffed at an increasing rate each of the past three years, topping out at a whopping 33 percent in 2016. Castro hit particularly poorly against left-handed pitching ( .149/.237/.241). A former top-10 pick, Castro was once a promising power hitter who hit 18 homers and slugged .485 in 2013 so he still has some upside. His offensive numbers have been on the decline ever since, but his defensive skills and pitch-framing ability are seen as elite. He'll be the primary catcher for the Twins after signing a three-year, $24 million contract.
Thumbing his nose at a history of chronic right knee issues, Castro remained healthy in 2015, but he was limited to just 104 games for the Astros due to his offensive struggles. The 28-year-old hit a mere .211/.283/.365 with 11 home runs and 31 RBI over 337 at-bats. He struck out at a career-worst 30.7 percent clip, but his strong defense behind the plate and relationship with the pitching staff earned him the lion's share of the playing time over No. 2 catcher Hank Conger. A finalist for the AL Gold Glove award last season, Castro is likely to open 2016 as Houston's starting catcher with Conger dealt to Tampa Bay in the offseason, and he has every incentive in the world to pick it up offensively with free agency looming in the winter.
Drafted as a consensus top-12 catcher, Castro hit a disappointing .222/.286/.366 with 14 home runs and 56 RBI to finish 2014 ranked 21st at the position. That made him a starter in most two-catcher leagues, but Castro's modest power (.156 career ISO), weak on-base skills (.316 OBP) and struggles against lefties (.201 BAA) make him a fringe option even in those formats. Perhaps the only impressive detail about his 2014 campaign was the fact he avoided the disabled list, but chronic right knee issues plagued him in every season prior and he continues to play the most physically demanding position on the field. The offseason acquisition of Hank Conger from the Angels puts Castro's long-term future with the Astros in doubt, but he'll likely compete with Conger in an ongoing battle for playing time if the duo remains intact through the end of spring training.
In 2013, Castro finally had the coming out party that many were expecting earlier in his career. Not only did he stay relatively healthy, appearing in a career-high 120 games before a cyst in his right knee forced him to miss most of September, he earned All-Star Game honors and won the American League Player of the Week award twice. Backed by a .276/.350/.485 slash line with 18 home runs and 56 RBI, Castro was one of the better offensive catchers in fantasy, especially since the Astros used him as a middle-of-the-order bat in their rebuilding lineup. The 26-year-old is expected to be ready for spring training and build off his success from last season.
Last season was supposed to be Castro's coming out party. Instead, it was another cautionary tale about lofty projections for catching prospects, as the oft-injured Castro put up some pretty pedestrian offensive numbers. Though he may never hit the way he was projected to coming out of college, he may be able to evolve into the sort of player that can put up a league average batting average with a solid on-base percentage and 10-15 home runs. Castro is only 25 and has just 452 major league at-bats to his name, so there is reason to hope a breakout is still looming. The Astros, however, would be wise to ensure whoever they sign as Castro's backup is competent enough to step in as the starter if things for Castro go from bad to worse.
Just when it finally looked like Castro was going to get that chance to prove himself as a starter, he tore his ACL. As it stands now, he is just a .205 career hitter without speed or power. A brief stint in the Arizona Fall League showed useful on-base skills, but minimal pop in a hitter-friendly environment. To make matters worse, he suffered a foot injury in his final AFL game and will be sidelined until mid-March. He still could turn into a solid everyday catcher, but it no longer looks like the former first-round pick will become a star.
For the better part of the last decade, the Astros have lacked a strong offensive catcher, a problem they hoped to solve when they made Castro the 10th overall pick in 2008. Castro's bat has been decent, but he still has some work to do defensively, something he could perhaps learn on the job from Humberto Quintero's "veteran presence." He'll only be 23 in 2011, so there's time for him to develop, but a slow start could mean he's doing that developing in Triple-A.
Castro held his own splitting time between High-A and Double-A, hitting .300 and playing solid defense. A three-run homer for Team USA in the Futures Game put an exclamation point on a "coming of age" season for the young catcher. He, and not J.R. Towles, is increasingly being looked to as the Astros' catcher of the future. Castro might see some time in Houston in 2010, but if the Astros were smart, they'd let him spend the bulk of the season developing in Triple-A. He's just 22, and there's no sense in rushing him.
The Astros made Castro, a catcher from Stanford, the 10th overall pick in last June’s amateur draft. He hit .376/.429/.613 in his final year with the Cardinal, with 14 homers, 18 doubles, 73 RBI and 68 runs. Castro quickly reached an agreement with the Astros and played with Tri-City in the short-season New York-Penn League where he hit .275/.383/.384 with two homers, nine doubles and 12 RBI in 138 at-bats. He’s just 21 years old and currently projects as Houston's catcher of the future. He will likely begin the year at High-A Salem or Double-A Corpus Christi in 2009.
More Fantasy News
Out for season
CHouston Astros  
Knee
August 2, 2022
Castro underwent surgery last week to repair the meniscus in his left knee and will miss the rest of the 2022 season, Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle reports. The Astros transferred him on the 60-day injured list Tuesday.
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Out with knee discomfort
CHouston Astros  
Knee
July 1, 2022
Castro was placed on the 10-day injured list with left knee discomfort Friday, Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle reports.
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Swats clutch homer
CHouston Astros  
June 29, 2022
Castro went 2-for-4 with a two-run home run Wednesday against the Mets.
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Struggling in June
CHouston Astros  
June 20, 2022
Castro went 1-for-3 with a run scored Sunday against the White Sox.
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Starts while Maldonado rests
CHouston Astros  
June 14, 2022
Castro will start at catcher and bat eighth in Tuesday's game against the Rangers.
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Latest Fantasy Rumors
Tigers showing interest
CFree Agent  
January 20, 2021
Castro has drawn interest from the Tigers in free agency, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reports.
ANALYSIS
Castro has already been linked to the Astros, Rangers and Cubs during free agency, and the Tigers are now showing interest in the 33-year-old catcher. The Tigers already have several options at catcher on their roster, but Castro would provide a left-handed bat at the position. Castro appeared in 28 games last year, hitting .188 with two home runs and nine RBI over 80 at-bats.
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