Yankees Starlin Castro: Underrated second baseman in 2018

Yankees second baseman Starlin Castro missed time with injury but still put up good numbers. As a result, he could be underrated heading into 2018.

The New York Yankees surprised everyone by coming back from 0-2 to the Cleveland Indians to move on to the ALCS. While Didi Gregorius looks like the team MVP, across from him is a second baseman that is holding is own.

Starlin Castro missed some time in the summer with a hamstring injury. He came back for a few games before landing back on the DL on July 22. He returned on Aug. 25 and finished the season strong.With the missed time and down numbers, Castro finds

With the missed time and down numbers, Castro finds himself outside the top-15 second basemen on some rankings. At that spot, he is a steal in any draft. He is clearly worthy to be your starting second baseman and not your middle infielder.

Castro played in 112 games after playing in 151 games in both 2015 and 2016. In those games, he hit 16 home runs, 63 RBI and .300. He also had 66 runs, 93 strikeouts, 23 walks and a .338 on-base percentage.

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The strikeout-to-walk ratio could be better, but that hasn’t been a part of his game over the past three seasons.

People apparently forget the season he had in 2016. In 151 games, Castro had a 21 HR/70 RBI/63  R/.270 line. While the higher batting average is worth more considering everyone hits home runs, the added value he provides four of the five hitting categories is important.

There are those players that support just one category (Billy Hamilton with steals or Joey Gallo with home runs) but I like to have players that can help across the board.

Looking at the second baseman rankings, the top of the list is obvious. Jose Altuve, Jose Ramirez, Brian Dozier, Dee Gordon and Daniel Murphy are the top five. Jonathan Schoop and Robinson Cano are the next two in line.

After that, though, the quality drops off some. DJ LeMahieu and Rougned Odor had career years but are in special circumstances. Whit Merrifield had a breakout year as well but can he repeat? Then there are a bunch of multi-position players that could be slotted elsewhere. We then finally get to Castro.

He was the 16th drafted second baseman in ESPN leagues this season. Looking at his 2015 numbers, that’s understandable. He was a steal for his fantasy owners in the first half of the season before he got injured.

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If you’re in a league and you can draft Castro in the 18th round, I would think about leaving that league. He is a top-12 second baseman. No doubt. Hitting in Yankee Stadium and with the lineup he has around him, Castro will have plenty of opportunities to hit and hit well.

He is someone to target in drafts as the other owners draft their second baseman early.