12 relievers the Mets should target ahead of the trade deadline

6) NY Mets trade target Diego Castillo

Diego Castillo is another pitcher who has struggled early, but has a big turn around coming.

Castillo has pitched in 25 games for the Mariners, tallying 23 innings pitched and four saves. He’s allowed 21 hits, 13 earned runs, nine walks, and struck out 28 batters. His ERA is 5.09, but his FIP is less than half of that at 2.44.

Castillo is similar to Trivino and Scott in that he strikes out a lot of batters, but he also walks a lot. However, his numbers aren’t as extreme as those guys. He averages 11 K/9 and is in the 82nd percentile in strikeout rate. His BB/9 is 3.5 and he’s in the 36th percentile in walk rate. He’s only allowed one homer this year, good for a HR/9 of 0.4. 

The righty is basically a sinker slider pitcher, but not in the traditional sense because he has power stuff. He uses his slider 62% of the time and his sinker 32%. He’ll mix in a four-seamer occasionally, but at 5.6%, it’s mostly a show-me pitch. His slider is an elite pitch, with hitters hitting just .155 and slugging .172 against it. They swing and miss at it almost 36% of the time.

His Savant metrics look really good. He’s in the 93rd percentile in xSLG, 82nd percentile in barrel rate, 87th percentile in xERA and xwOBA, 79th percentile in hard hit rate, and 69th percentile in chase rate. He relies on his swing-and-miss stuff, but when he does give up contact, more than a third of it is on the ground.

Castillo has two years of control after this season. Even though it feels like he’s been around forever, he’s still just 28 and in his prime for the remainder of his control.