White Sox Sign Welington Castillo: Fantasy Impact

After a successful season in Baltimore, can Welington Castillo post similar numbers with his new team in 2018?

The Chicago White Sox have been subjected to trade rumors surrounding their star first baseman Jose Abreu. Despite that, the team went out to sign a bat to be at least somewhat competitive this season. Welington Castillo had his best season in Baltimore last year. Can he do it again in 2018?

Castillo played in just 96 games in 2017. He missed some time in May and June and split time throughout the season with Caleb Joseph. But when he did play, Castillo provided his fantasy owners with a lot of power.

He hit 11 doubles, 20 home runs and 53 RBI with a .282/.323/.490 slash line. Those numbers are either career highs or second-best in his eight-year career. Hitting in the American League East also provided Castillo with a benefit many other hitters didn’t have.

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Yankee Stadium and Camden Yards ranked second and third, respectively, in home runs according to ESPN Park Factors. Minnesota, Chicago (AL) and Detroit ranked sixth, seventh and eighth respectively. Cleveland was 17th and Kansas City was 27th.

Moving to Chicago will also help Castillo. As long as he can stay healthy, he will have the starting job. The only other catcher the White Sox have is Omar Narvaez and he will likely become a bench option and off-day fill in.

Castillo will be a power upgrade and slight contact upgrade over the group of catchers the White Sox had in 2017. They hit a combined .279/.346/.381 with 10 homers, 51 RBI and 51 runs scored. Again consistency is key.

In the first draft of my 2018 rankings, I had Castillo has my No. 16 catcher. With this move, I can confidently move him up to my top 12, ahead of Austin Hedges and Brian McCann. As long as he stays healthy and reaches 20 home runs with a .280 average, he can possibly move into the top 10.

The Orioles are also impacted by this move. Without Castillo, Baltimore will rely on a duo of Chance Sisco and Joseph. Sisco hit .333 in 18 at-bats while Joseph hit .256 with eight home runs, 28 RBI and 31 runs scored.

Unless one of them breakout during Spring Training, I would stay away from the Orioles catcher situation. Most leagues are one-catcher leagues, so you should have plenty of other options. There are 29 other teams to look at.

Dynasty owners should look at Zack Collins in a couple of years. He doesn’t have the contact, .223 average. but hit 17 home runs in 101 High-A games. If he can raise the average by 20-30 points, he’ll be a good catching stash.

Next: Arizona adds Brad Boxberger

Take away the real baseball aspect of this move, (the White Sox not competing and the financials), Castillo joining Chicago is a good move for fantasy. The majority of ballparks in the AL Central are hitter-friendly. He should have the starting job for this season and possibly 2019.