LA Angels: 3 reasons to pursue a Luis Castillo trade

ATLANTA, GA – OCTOBER 01: Luis Castillo #58 of the Cincinnati Reds leaves the game in the sixth inning of Game Two of the National League Wild Card Series against the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park on October 1, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

Stuff

Luis Castillo has some of the best stuff in the major leagues, which is why it makes sense that his numbers are so good. His changeup is one of the best in the majors getting a 40.1% whiff rate on the changeup in 2020, that was not an outlier either, he had a even better whiff rate in 2019 at 48%. He uses his changeup the most out of all of his four pitches, just more than his four-seam fastball. This has happened over the years, because in 2017 he threw his four-seam 46.6% of the time compared to his 27% usage in 2020.

His usage of the sinker has also climbed, which is a good contrast to the four-seam fastball. Castillo has very good vertical and horizontal movement on his changeup, he gets 34.1 inches of vertical movement, which ranks 68th of all changeups in the major leagues. He also gets 16.5 inches of horizontal movement, which ranks 34th of all changeups in the major leagues.

He ranks in the 85th percentile of xERA which is very good. Castillo has some of the nastiest stuff in the league, which is reflected by some of his data. He gets a lot of strikeouts and would be a great acquisition for the Angels.

Stuff

Schedule