Castellanos gets the call: After toiling in the Minors the last few seasons, top Tigers’  prospect Nick Castellanos finally got the call to the big club yesterday. He came into the game to play left field, and went 0-2 at the plate. No worries, though, as none of the Tigers’ bats were working in a 4-0 loss to Cleveland. He was doing fine at the dish in Toledo, however, hitting .276 with 18 home runs and 76 RBI’s for the Triple-A affiliate. Castellanos was drafted by Detroit as a third-baseman in 2010, but was moved to the outfield in 2012.

“I could hit .900 with 100 home runs and I still was not going to play third base in Detroit”, he stated to the AP. But he did look at the move as a positive one and a “very good thing” because “they saw me moving here in the future.” He also stated about the position change: “I was new to everything. I was new to reads off the bat, line drives that stay true and line drives that have topspin down. I was pretty rough with having wall awareness.”  He also credits Gene Roof, Detroit’s roving minor league outfield and base running coordinator for taking the time to work with him. “Without him, I wouldn’t be in this locker room.”

Castellanos played for the West Michigan Whitecaps during the 2011 season, when he was just 19 years-old. He hit .312, with 36 doubles, seven home runs, and 76 RBI’s. Now, at the ripe ol’ age of 21, he’s being brought up to the bigs in the mist of a playoff race.

“I’m extremely fortunate to be able, first of all, to get call up, and second of all to be called up in a situation like this, where we’re playing for something,” he stated. “So I’m just going to take everything in, I’m going to learn as much as I can, and I’m going to enjoy the ride because it’s going to be a lot of fun.”

We wish the best of luck to Castellanos, who’s pictured above with Lily. If he makes it big, that baseball he signed for her will be something to treasure!

Travis named MWL post-season All-Star: Former Whitecaps’ second baseman Devon Travis, who was call up to the Lakeland Flying Tigers in July, has been named to the Midwest League post-season All-Star team for 2013. Only one player for each position is chosen, so it’s an honor to be picked as that one best player. He’s earned it, too, hitting .352, with 17 doubles, six home runs, 42 RBI’s, and 14 stolen bases, in only 77 games. Before being promoted to Class-A Advanced Florida State League, he was leading the MWL with 102 hits, games played, and a .982 fielding percentage. He also participated in the Midwest League All-Star game in June, being named the MVP after hitting a three-run triple while going 2-2.  Travis is also the owner of the longest hitting streak in Whitecaps history, by hitting safely in 21 consecutive game from April 21-May 12. I was happy I could watch Travis play before his promotion, and we’ll be following him as he moves up in the system. The only other player from a Michigan based team to be named to the All-Star team was relief pitcher Geoff Brown, with the Great Lakes Loons. The Loons are also the only team to make the playoffs, so we’ll be keeping track of their bid for the championship, also. If they can just hold secure a home game for next weekend….

Photos property of Minoring In Baseball