Expectations of Yankees’ Second Baseman Starlin Castro

The Yankees filled a much needed hole at second base and are optimistic with the acquisition of Starlin Castro, but what can we expect from his first season in the Bronx? 

In 2015, the offensive production from Yankee second basemen was putrid as they produced a slash line of .210/.270/.371 during the second season without the always reliable Robinson Cano. During Cano’s tenure with the Yankees, he produced a slash line of .309/.355/.504 along with smashing 204 home runs over nine seasons.

Fans are hoping Castro can bring Cano-like consistency to New York, and there is no reason to think that he can’t do that. The Yankees made the trade for Castro with the Chicago Cubs for utility infielder Brendan Ryan and starter/reliever Adam Warren.

In 2011, Castro led the NL with 207 hits while slashing .307/.341/.432 along with 10 homers, 66 RBIs and 22 stolen bases in his second season in the big leagues. In 2012, he set career highs in home runs (14), RBIs (78) and stolen bases (25).

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2015 proved to be the most disappointing campaign of the 25-year old’s young career. Expectations fell well short as he slashed .265/.296/.375 with 11 homers and 69 RBIs, causing him to lose the starting shortstop job in August.

So why all the excitement over a young promising star who some have labeled as a bust? Well, when Castro lost the shortstop job in the thick of a playoff race, it was taken as a wake-up call.

After transitioning to second base, he slashed .339/.358/583 with 5 home runs in 33 games. Those are the Cano-like numbers fans have missed. Defensively, he seemed to have declined a little bit (at SS: .963 fld%, at 2B: .957 fld%) but if he could produce in 2016 at the plate like he did after the position general manager Brian Cashman wins this trade.

“He really looked like a different player over at second,” Cashman said. “Even before the positional switch, we felt by our evaluations that he could be a pretty interesting player over at second. Then obviously when the Cubs made the switch, we got confirmation of that.”

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The Yankees and their newest second baseman have shown enthusiasm in regards to his presence in the lineup, and to the City of New York. Though we’ve seen him burst onto the scene as a rookie sensation, and watched him in the playoffs, fans still don’t know what their going to get from Castro in 2016 and the future.

It is really tough to pinpoint where we’ll see his bat in the lineup, but his probable spot would be in the 7th or 8th spot. Castro’s scouting report rates him as having decent power and accredits him for hitting for high average throughout his career. So there’s reasoning behind Cashman loving his flexibility, for manager Joe Girardi to shuffle him around the order.

In Chicago, he was lost in the group of rookie sensations that busted onto the scene and Castro was no longer considered the future of the franchise. This change of scenery was more than necessary. The intense and non-forgiving atmosphere of Yankee Stadium will serve as a benefit, and Castro brings the injection of youth into an interesting Yankee team.

With the Cubs, he was the veteran presence as a 24-year old. Here in New York, he gets the chance to bring the youth while being surrounded by veterans like Alex Rodriguez and Carlos Beltran.

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Castro is projected by Baseball reference to slash .271/.313/.400 while hitting twelve home runs. I’m not going to put numbers on it, but I expect Castro to be a God-send upgrade over Drew, and will be not only vital for the Yankees’ 2016 playoff hopes, but for the future of the organization.