Willi Castro
Quick Facts
Biography
Willi Rafael Castro Capellan (born April 24, 1997) is a Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Career
Cleveland Indians
Castro signed with the Cleveland Indians as an international free agent in July 2013. He made his professional debut in 2014 with the Arizona League Indians and spent the whole season there, batting .239 with two home runs and 11 RBIs in 43 games. He played 2015 with the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, where he batted .264 with one home run, 25 RBIs and twenty stolen bases, and 2016 with the Lake County Captains and Lynchburg Hillcats, posting a combined .258 batting average with seven home runs and 49 RBIs. In 2017, Castro played for Lynchburg where he batted .290 with a career high 11 home runs along with 58 RBIs, 19 stolen bases and a .761 OPS. The Indians added him to their 40-man roster after the season.
MLB.com ranked Castro as Cleveland's fifth best prospect going into the 2018 season. He opened the 2018 season with the Akron RubberDucks.
Detroit Tigers
On July 31, 2018, Castro was traded to the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Leonys Martín and Kyle Dowdy. Following the trade, he split the rest of the season between the Erie SeaWolves and the Toledo Mud Hens. He opened the 2019 season back with Toledo.
On August 24, 2019, the Tigers selected Castro's contract and promoted him to the major leagues. He made his major league debut that night versus the Minnesota Twins, going 2-for-4.On September 22, Castro hit his first major league home run off Josh Osich of the Chicago White Sox. He ended the season hitting .230 with 1 home run in 30 games.