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Luis Castillo (Águilas), threw a pair of 96 mph fastballs during his Cactus League debut against the Reds in Goddyear, Arizona.
“My velocity is telling me I’m healthy,” Castillo said, MLB.com’s Daniel Kramer reported.
The 31-year-old Banilejo limited Cincinnati to one walk in two hitless innings in his spring debut.
“We’re going to continue with the same routine and hopefully that speed will continue to increase.”
Last year, he held hitters to a .165 batting average and .384 slugging percentage, according to Statcast,
“I think this year, hopefully, the results will come our way and we can take this team very far.”
“La Piedra” on Monday, when he returned to the mound making his Cactus debut, outscored his former team for two hitless innings, with a walk and a strikeout as part of a 2-0 victory over the Reds in Goodyear Ballpark.
“That was a surprise to me,” Castillo said, “because it’s not every year you come in and get all that speed right away.”
Castillo finished fifth in American League Cy Young voting last season, the highest of his career.
In the minors
Jorge Alcalá (Águilas) could start the season in the minors as he has options available after the Twins added several veterans to the bullpen, MLB.com reports.
Alcalá has pitched two scoreless innings with one strikeout and one walk this spring while hitting the 96 to 97 mph range with his fastball.
The one from Haina is completely healthy after battling injuries the last two seasons and will need to prove it in AAA before becoming part of the major league bullpen this summer.
Quadrangular
Elehuris Montero (Aguilas) started at first base and went 2-for-3 with a two-run homer in Thursday’s Cactus League game against the Cubs, MLB.com’s Thomas Harding reports.
He’s off to a good start this spring, hitting two home runs in 13 plate appearances and striking out just twice.
His own pitches
Framber Valdez (Eagles) will experiment with some of his own pitches during spring training, with a PitchCom device that will allow him to send signals to the catcher beginning in his Grapefruit League debut this Friday.
Valdez appears to be making the change as a result of the departure of Martín Maldonado, who gave him every inning he pitched in 2023 and all but three innings over the past two seasons.
Ready to start
Edward Cabrera (Toros) allowed two hits and struck out two in two scoreless innings in the Grapefruit League game against the Astros.
Cabrera was strong with 21 of 31 pitches for strikes against a Houston lineup led by Chas McCormick. and Yainer Díaz.
The 25-year-old from Santiago is not sure to finish the big team camp in Miami’s rotation.
Return to the bay
Francisco Mejía (Licey) signed a Minor League contract with the Rays on Thursday that includes an invitation to spring training, Marc Topkin of the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Mejia was abruptly released by the Angels over the weekend, but quickly found a new job with his former team.
The Tampa Bay Times notes that Alex Jackson is still expected to be René Pinto’s backup, but Mejía will provide depth at catcher and is already familiar with much of the pitching staff.
2024-03-01 20:48:08
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