Since joining the Phillies organization, Rodolfo Castro has not shown what type of player he can be.

Last season, for example, Castro went on the IL early in the year with a shoulder injury, and then in August he suffered a torn ligament in his right thumb that ended his season early.

The injuries limited him to just 19 games with Lehigh Valley.

Just a year earlier, in July of 2023, the Phillies acquired Castro from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for left-hander Bailey Falter. Castro had hit .228 in 78 games with Pittsburgh prior to the trade and with Philadelphia, managed to hit just .100 in 14 MLB games.

The player that the Phillies saw was a guy who hit 11 home runs, albeit with just a .233 batting average in 2022 when he played 71 games with Pittsburgh. Between 2018 and 2021, Castro hit 44 home runs in the minors and batted .239.

Castro’s numbers, combined with the fact that he was a switch-hitter and at least an average defender with a strong arm — capable of playing both middle infield spots well and handling third base adequately — made him an intriguing prospect, especially since he was just 22 years old when he made his MLB debut.

All that IronPigs fans saw was the guy who was constantly injured and hit just .209 when he was healthy.

Last winter, Castro put some added thought into his game and how he wanted to approach the 2025 season.

While Castro was a switch-hitter, his career .224 average against right-handed pitchers was an issue, but the problem was that he had hit most of his home runs against those same pitchers. Castro was in that gray area of having to sacrifice batting average for power and deciding which was better.

This season, IronPigs fans have seen something a little different.

Castro came into spring training and announced that he was only going to bat right-handed. As it turns out, the change didn’t make a lot of difference. The career .224 hitter against right-handed pitchers is batting just .226 against them this season. The guy who hit .252 in his career against lefties though has dropped his average from .255 coming into the season to just .219 this season with Lehigh Valley. And, he still has more power against right-handed pitchers – 15 home runs vs. righties, two vs lefties — than he does against southpaws.

Castro has also shown some signs of regression defensively at short where he has made 18 errors this season. He has not played second, and has played just eight games at third base.

While the 17 home runs are nice, the rest of the package doesn’t bode well for Castro long-term. He is now 26, and may need to do some reassessing again this offseason.

THIEVERY … So far, Rich Thompson’s franchise record of 48 stolen bases in 2011 is intact. Justin Crawford stole three bases in the five games in Omaha, including two on Friday, to put him at 45 this season. Oscar Mercado, who is trying to become just the third Lehigh Valley player to steal 40 bases, is at 38 and has seen his playing time diminish somewhat with the IronPigs having a heavy rotation of outfielders. Meanwhile, shortstop prospect Aidan Miller has stolen 50 bases at Reading.

OFF TO PHILLY … Fan favorite Garrett Stubbs was one of two players added to the Phillies roster when the MLB rosters expanded on Sept. 1. His exit means he will miss his own bobblehead day, which is coming up on Sunday at Coca-Cola Park. Also exiting is Green Lane native Lou Trivino, who was recalled when the Phillies released reliever Joe Ross. Trivino and Tim Mayza, a lefty claimed off waivers by the Phillies, played together on the old Quakertown Blazers of the ACBL during their college days.