Wilkin Castillo (born June 1, 1984) is a Dominican former

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

. He made his major league debut in 2008 for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. He has played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(MLB) for the Reds and

Miami Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The franc ...

. Listed at and , Castillo throws right-handed and is a

switch hitter In baseball, a switch hitter is a player who bats both right-handed and left-handed, usually right-handed against left-handed pitchers and left-handed against right-handed pitchers. Characteristics Right-handed batters generally hit better aga ...

Professional career

Arizona Diamondbacks

Castillo was originally signed as an undrafted

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in 2002 by the

Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...

. He first played in Arizona's

farm system In sports, a farm team, farm system, feeder team, feeder club, or nursery club is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful players can move on to a higher ...

in 2004, mostly in the rookie-level Pioneer League, while also appearing in six Triple-A games. He spent 2005 playing in Class A and spent 2006 in

Class A-Advanced High-A (officially Class High-A, formerly known as Class A-Advanced, and sometimes abbreviated "A+" in writing) is the third-highest level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States and Canada, below Triple-A and Double-A, and abov ...

, Double-A, and Triple-A. In 2007, he played for the Double-A

Mobile BayBears The Mobile BayBears were a Minor League Baseball team based in Mobile, Alabama, United States. The team, which played in the Southern League, served as the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres (1997–2006), Arizona Diamondbacks (2007–2 ...

where he had a .302

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

in 109 games. In 2008, Castillo was named the 14th-best prospect in the Diamondbacks organization, and played 104 games in Triple-A for the

Tucson Sidewinders , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

, batting .254 with six home runs and 47 RBIs.

Cincinnati Reds

On August 14, 2008, Castillo was sent to the

as a part of the

Adam Dunn Adam Troy Dunn (born November 9, 1979), nicknamed "Big Donkey", is an American former professional baseball left fielder and first baseman. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, Washington Nation ...

trade, which took place August 11. On September 1, he was called up and made his MLB debut the following day against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

, flying out to left in his one at-bat as a

pinch hitter In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute Batting (baseball), batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the dead ball (baseball), ball is dead (not in active play); the manager (baseball), manager may use any player who has not yet ...

. His first hit was on September 3, a single to right field off T. J. Beam of the Pirates, also as a pinch hitter. Castillo played in 18 MLB games in 2008, with 9 hits in 32 at-bats for a .281 average. He began the 2009 season with the Triple-A

Louisville Bats The Louisville Bats are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Louisville, Kentucky, and are named in dual reference to the bat, win ...

after failing to earn a spot on the Reds' roster. On June 20, he was called up to the Reds and appeared in four games with two hits in three at-bats. He played in a total of 22 games with the Reds over the two seasons, with 11 hits in 35 at-bats for a .314 average.

Minor league and international play

;Atlanta Braves Following the 2010 season, Castillo became a minor league free agent. He signed a minor league contract, with an invitation to

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for Schedule (workplace), roster and position spo ...

, with the

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. The Braves ...

. He spent the 2011 season with the Triple-A

Gwinnett Braves The Gwinnett Stripers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves. They play their home games at Coolray Field in unincorporated Gwinnett County, Georgia (with a Lawrencevil ...

, recording a

slash line S sabermetrics :Sabermetrics is the analysis of baseball through objective evidence, especially baseball statistics. The term is derived from the SABR – the Society for American Baseball Research. The term was coined by Bill James, an ...

of .262/.285/.366 with 5 HR and 37 RBI in 80 games. ;Colorado Rockies On December 16, 2011, Castillo signed a minor league contract with the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

and played in Triple-A for the

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockie ...

, slashing .253/.273/.365 with 4 HR and 34 RBI in 74 games. ;Los Angeles Dodgers On November 21, 2012, Castillo signed a minor league deal with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. The Dodgers released him at the end of spring training. ;Vaqueros Laguna On May 24, 2013, Castillo was signed to the

Mexican League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

Triple-A

Vaqueros Laguna The ''vaquero'' (; pt, vaqueiro, , ) is a horse-mounted livestock herder of a tradition that has its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and extensively developed in Mexico from a methodology brought to Latin America from Spain. The vaquero became t ...

team. In 51 games he hit .378/.419/.562 with 6 home runs and 28 RBIs. ;Toros de Tijuana On April 1, 2014, Castillo was traded to the

Toros de Tijuana The Toros de Tijuana (or Tijuana Bulls) are a Mexican Baseball team based in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. They are members of the Mexican Baseball League and play their home games at Estadio Chevron. Team history Original Attempt The fran ...

. He was released on April 12, 2014. In 8 games he hit .182/.206/.273 with 0 home runs and 3 RBIs. ;Broncos de Reynosa On May 28, 2014, Castillo signed with the

Broncos de Reynosa The Reynosa Broncos (''los Broncos de Reynosa'') were a Mexican team that played in the Adolfo Lopez Mateos stadium in the city of Reynosa, Tamaulipas. The Broncos de Reynosa played in the Liga Mexicana de Beisbol and it was part of the Zona Nort ...

of the

Mexican Baseball League The Mexican League (, ) is a professional baseball league based in Mexico and the oldest running professional league in the country. The league has 18 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games each season. Five te ...

. He was released on July 1, 2014. In 25 games he hit .215/.284/.333 with 2 home runs and 8 RBIs. ;Pittsburgh Pirates On January 30, 2015, Castillo signed a minor league contract with the

. He elected free agency on November 6. ;Toronto Blue Jays On February 26, 2016, Castillo signed a minor league contract with the

Toronto Blue Jays The Toronto Blue Jays are a Canadian professional baseball team based in Toronto. The Blue Jays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since 1989, the team has played its home games ...

, and was assigned to the Triple-A

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen Fiel ...

. ;New York Yankees On January 7, 2017, Castillo signed a minor league contract with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

. He elected free agency on November 6, 2017. ;Long Island Ducks On March 27, 2018, Castillo signed with the

Long Island Ducks The Long Island Ducks are an American professional minor-league baseball team based on Long Island in Central Islip, New York. The Ducks compete in the North Division of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB), an independent "partne ...

of the independent

Atlantic League of Professional Baseball The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball (ALPB) is a professional independent baseball league based in the United States. It is an official MLB Partner League based in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. The Atlantic League's ...

. In 20 games he hit .314/.400/.486 with 2 home runs and 12 RBIs. ;Second stint with Yankees On May 24, 2018, Castillo's contract was purchased by the

. He elected free agency on November 2, 2018.

Miami Marlins

On February 28, 2019, Castillo signed a minor league contract with the

. He opened the 2019 season with the

New Orleans Baby Cakes The New Orleans Baby Cakes (formerly the New Orleans Zephyrs) were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They were located in Metairie, Louisiana, a sub ...

. His contract was selected by the Marlins on June 21. The next day, in his first MLB game in 10 years and two days, Castillo hit a go-ahead two-run double in a Marlins 5–3 win over the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

. On September 3, Castillo was

designated for assignment Designated for assignment (DFA) is a contractual term used in Major League Baseball (MLB). A player who is designated for assignment is immediately removed from the team's 40-man roster, after which the team must within seven days, return the pla ...

. He elected free agency on October 14, 2019. He re-signed with the Marlins organization on July 31, 2020. Castillo was released by the Marlins on August 18, 2020.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castillo, Wilkin 1984 births Living people Broncos de Reynosa players Buffalo Bisons (minor league) players Colorado Springs Sky Sox players Cincinnati Reds players Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in Mexico Dominican Republic expatriate baseball players in the United States Gwinnett Braves players Indianapolis Indians players Lancaster JetHawks players Leones del Escogido players Long Island Ducks players Louisville Bats players Major League Baseball catchers Major League Baseball players from the Dominican Republic Mexican League baseball catchers Miami Marlins players Missoula Osprey players Mobile BayBears players New Hampshire Fisher Cats players New Orleans Baby Cakes players Scottsdale Scorpions players Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders players South Bend Silver Hawks players Tennessee Smokies players Tigres del Licey players Toros de Tijuana players Trenton Thunder players Tucson Sidewinders players Vaqueros Laguna players