Nick Castellanos Keeps Moving Past An Ugly Stat
Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos is not a good defensive player, or at least that’s what the statistical evidence suggests.
He had -9 Defensive Runs Saved (DRS) in the regular season and -11 Outs Above Average (OAA), the two defensive metrics most commonly used these days.
The eye test was also rough most of the times.
But something appears to have clicked for him during postseason play.
He may not always make the best reads or run the appropriate routes, but Castellanos is willing himself to be at least an average right fielder, and so far, he is achieving it.
SIS Baseball had an accurate representation of what the playoffs have been for the Phillies outfielder.
As we were saying … https://t.co/17nJyPoCgK
— SIS_Baseball (@sis_baseball) October 29, 2022
The video is from a play in which Castellanos saved a win for the Phillies during the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves.
He Did It Again!
He made a diving catch on a William Contreras fly ball that would have been an extra-base and changed the outcome of the game.
On Friday, during Game 1 of the World Series against the Houston Astros, Castellanos did it again.
That’s why SIS Baseball wrote “As we were saying” because they had said “it’s baseball, anything can happen.”
What is “happening” is that Castellanos has put much more importance into being a competent fielder.
During that Game 1 of the Fall Classic, he helped preserve a tie in the ninth inning by making a running catch on a Jeremy Pena fly ball.
¡NICK CASTELLANOS SALVANDO A LOS PHILLIES! pic.twitter.com/HQknmUoLSB
— El Extrabase ⚾️ (@ElExtrabase) October 29, 2022
The Phillies eventually won that game on a J.T. Realmuto home run, so his defensive efforts were definitely rewarded.
Castellanos’ postseason defensive performance has been night and day compared to the regular season.