Twins' Willi Castro: Resting for second leg of twin bill
Rotowire
Castro is out of the lineup for the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader against the White Sox.
Kyle Farmer will get the nod at second base in the nightcap after Castro manned the keystone in the Twins' 3-1 loss in Game 1, going 0-for-3 with a walk. Castro is on the bench for the first time since June 20, ending a streak of 17 consecutive starts.
Castro went 2-for-4 with two steals and a run scored in Sunday's 5-3 win over the Mariners.
Castro notched base hits in his first two at-bats of the afternoon and stole second both times. He's now up to 10 steals on the year, marking a second consecutive season with double-digit thefts. Castro closed out June on a heater at the dish. In 13 games since June 16, he's slashing .370/.414/.667 with two homers, nine RBI and 13 runs scored. He's totaled seven multi-hit efforts over that span. The 27-year-old is cruising to career-best offensive numbers this year across the board in his second season with the Twins.
Castro went 2-for-4 with a double, a two-run home run and two runs scored in Wednesday's win over Arizona while also being hit by a pitch.
Castro was hit by a pitch in his second at-bat and responded with a leadoff double on the first pitch in his next trip to the plate, before then coming home on a double from Trevor Larnach. The utility man would add a two-run homer in the fifth to increase Minnesota's lead to seven runs, giving him two homers over his last five games. Castro has also hit safely in nine straight, posting multiple hits in five of those contests. He's batting .405 (15-for-37) over that stretch with eight RBI and nine runs scored.
Castro went 2-for-5 with a three-run home run, a double and two total runs scored in Friday's 6-5 loss to the Athletics.
Castro logged his fourth multi-hit effort in his last five games, with the lone exception being Thursday when he started the game on the bench. Batting .290 (20-for-69) in June, Castro has been impressive for the Twins, and it hasn't been just an empty average. He has nine extra-base hits, eight RBI and 13 runs scored over 19 contests this month. For the season, he's posted a .272/.357/.444 slash line with six homers, 24 RBI, 43 runs scored, eight stolen bases and a career-high 19 doubles through 76 games.
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Twins' Willi Castro: Long starting streak comes to end
Rotowire
Castro is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Rays.
For the first time since April 15, Castro will head to the bench, ending a streak of 59 consecutive starts. Though he opened the season in a utility role, Castro has solidified an everyday role thanks to his positional versatility and solid production at the plate. Austin Martin will enter the lineup at second base in place of Castro, who has been dialed in of late with a .368/.429/.605 slash line to go with one home run, six doubles, one stolen base, nine runs and four RBI over his last nine starts.
Castro went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two runs scored in an 8-7 win over the Athletics in Game 2 of Sunday's doubleheader.
Castro went 0-for-3 with a walk in the day game, but he redeemed himself with a strong showing in the nightcap. This was his third multi-hit effort in his last five contests. The 27-year-old is up to a .261/.350/.416 slash line with five home runs, eight stolen bases, 18 RBI, 40 runs scored, 15 doubles and four triples over 71 games this season. Between his speed and his defensive versatility, Castro can provide some quality depth for fantasy managers.
Castro started at second base and went 0-for-2 with a walk in Tuesday's loss against the Yankees.
Castro has played several positions this season and has moved frequently during games, but he's now set to start mostly at second base due to Edouard Julien being sent to Triple-A. He'll likely soon accumulate enough games at second base (three games played at second this season) to qualify at another position in most formats. (He's already played more than 10 games at third base, shortstop and outfield.)
