Quick Facts
GeminiBiography
Ryan Alexander Casteel (born June 6, 1991) is an American professional baseball catcher in the Atlanta Braves organization.
Career
Casteel attended Bradley Central High School in Cleveland, Tennessee. After graduating, he went unselected in the 2009 Major League Baseball (MLB) Draft. Though he had previously accepted a scholarship to attend the University of Tennessee and play college baseball for the Tennessee Volunteers on a scholarship, Casteel rejected the scholarship, and enrolled at Cleveland State Community College, also in Cleveland. This way, Casteel would be eligible for the MLB Draft earlier.
The Colorado Rockies selected Casteel in the 17th round of the 2010 MLB Draft. He began his professional career with the Casper Ghosts of the Rookie-level Pioneer League, and had a .305 batting average. The next year, he had a .273 batting average with the Tri-City Dust Devils of the Class A-Short Season Northwest League. In 2012, he played for the Asheville Tourists of the Class A South Atlantic League, and batted .279.
In 2013, he played for the Modesto Nuts of the Class A-Advanced California League. He was named a midseason All-Star and the California League's Catcher of the Year. He then played for the Melbourne Aces of the Australian Baseball League (ABL) for the 2013–14 ABL season. Casteel played in the ABL All-Star Game and won the Helms Award as the ABL's Most Valuable Player.
In 2014, Casteel played for the Tulsa Drillers of the Class AA Texas League, where he was named an All-Star. After the 2014 season, the Rockies assigned Casteel to the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League. Casteel spent the 2015 season with the Albuquerque Isotopes of the Class AAA Pacific Coast League.
In December 2016, Casteel signed a minor league contract with the Seattle Mariners.
On February 7, 2018, Casteel signed with the Lancaster Barnstormers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball He became a free agent following the 2018 season.
On January 25, 2019, Casteel signed a minor league contract with the Atlanta Braves.
Personal life
Casteel is married.