In what was a bit of a head-scratching move late in the off-season, the Diamondbacks made a decision to designate Welington Castillo for assignment. The 30-year-old backstop had served as their starting catcher for each of the previous two seasons and had performed as one of the upper-echelon catchers in the league.
The D'Backs had serious questions about his defense, game-calling and pitch framing though, and opted instead to employ a platoon of Jeff Mathis and Chris Iannetta.
That left other clubs, like the Orioles, able to swoop in late in the game and land a bat-first catcher at a discount price, a one-year deal for $6 million with a club option for 2018.
The fantasy community as a whole seemingly kept its belief in Beef. Heading into the final weekend of fantasy draft season in March, Castillo resided as the 11th catcher by average draft position, being selected on average right around pick 180.
Sure, he was experiencing a slight downgrade in home park by leading Chase Field, but Camden Yards is still one of the top run-scoring environments in the American League.
He was off to a nice
He has been a man possessed since returning though. Castillo went 6-for-10 with three RBI in two
Castillo tagged Jays' starter Aaron Sanchez for a game-tying two-run homer in the sixth inning, pulling the O's even at 3-3. He wasn't finished though. After Mark Trumbo reached on a two-out single in the 10th inning, Castillo pummeled a Jason Grilli offering over the wall for a walk-off homer.
It was the fourth multi-homer game of Castillo's career. He's now 9-for-15 (.600) with a pair of homers and seven RBI in three games since returning from the DL. As long as he can remain healthy, he looks like a lock to finish as a top-10 catcher.
It's a Wwwwwwwwwwinning Streak!
On May 8, the Texas Rangers dropped their series opener to the Padres in San Diego. It was their third straight loss and seventh in their last nine games.
Their record sat at a dismal 13-20 and the two-time reigning champions of the American League West found themselves in the cellar in their own division.
While their outlook for the season was beginning to look dim, it was nothing that a matchup against Jered Weaver couldn't fix.
The Rangers pounded Weaver and the Padres 11-0 the next day and they've been on fire ever since. After taking the final three games from the Padres and sweeping three-game sets from both the Athletics and Phillies, the Rangers rode a nine-game winning streak into Motown on Friday night.
The Tigers, playing without ailing slugger Miguel Cabrera (oblique), were also without cleanup hitter Victor Martinez who was away from the club on paternity leave. That made what's normally a very dangerous middle of the order look much more tame on Friday evening, and Nick Martinez took advantage.
The right-hander allowed only an unearned run in his five innings of work, earning his first victory of the season and giving the Rangers a 10-game winning streak. It's the longest streak in the majors this season, and the fourth-longest in Rangers' club history.
Matt Bush allowed an unearned run in the ninth inning, but was still able to convert his save chance. He has now closed out four games during the Rangers' streak and owns a scintillating 1.10 ERA and 0.98 WHIP on the year.
The power was supplied by a pair of hard-hitting sluggers who have struggled to make consistent contact this season. Mike Napoli clubbed his ninth home run of the season, a solo shot off of Daniel Norris in the fourth inning, while Gallo added the dagger with a mammoth two-run blast in the sixth, his 13th of the season.
While both have been terrific run producers in the Rangers' lineup this season, with a combined 51 RBI to their credit, they're each hitting under .190 on the season.
Now 23-20, the Rangers sit in second place in their division, 6 1/2 games back of the Houston Astros. If the season were to end today however, they comfortably sit in the top Wild Card spot and wouldn't miss out on the postseason.
The Rangers will look to extend their streak to 11 game when they battle Tigers' ace Justin Verlander on Saturday night.
The Canha Man Can
Mark Canha provided an unexpected lift to the Athletics' offense against Chris Sale and the Red Sox on Friday night in Oakland.
Canha doubled in his first at-bat of the night, leading off the third inning, but was stranded there. His next trip to the dish he crushed a run-scoring triple off of Sale to get the A's on the board in the fifth inning.
Continuing his trend of adding an extra base with each hit, Canha led off the 10th inning by clobbering a Heath Hembree offering deep into the seats in left field, sending the A's home as walk-off winners.
Since his recall from Triple-A on May 9, Canha is 10-for-21 (.476) with a pair of homers, three doubles and a triple. As long as he continues to hit, he should see semi-regular at-bats, especially against left-handed pitching.
That makes him a very interesting addition in AL-only formats and someone who could be useful in the deepest of mixed leagues as well.
American League Quick Hits: Jose Quintana was forced to settle for a no-decision after eight brilliant innings of one-hit baseball against the Mariners... Edwin Diaz fired two scoreless innings in relief during a tied game against the White Sox, and has seemingly moved closer to recapturing the closer's role... Chris Sale struck out 10 in a no-decision against the A's and has now fanned 10 or more batters in each of his last eight starts... Nate Karns was lifted from his start against the Twins after just five innings and 72 pitches due to stiffness in his forearm. The Royals are calling his exit precautionary though and sound optimistic that he'll be able to make his next scheduled start... Kelvin Herrera blew his second save of the season, serving up a game-tying homer to Kennys Vargas in the ninth inning... Cody Allen worked a perfect ninth inning against the Astros to secure his 11th save of the season... Luis Severino fanned seven in a no-decision against the Rays, but had to be lifted after five innings due to an elevated pitch count... Miguel Cabrera (oblique) is expected to return to the Tigers' lineup on Saturday...Athletics' manager Bob Melvin indicated that Yonder Alonso (knee) could be held out of the starting lineup for the remainder of the weekend... The Mariners had to back off of Mitch Haniger (oblique) for a couple of days after he experienced soreness following Thursday's workout... Tyson Ross (shoulder) will begin a minor league rehab assignment on Tuesday... Tyler Skaggs (oblique) will
National League Quick Hits: Alex Wood fired 7 1/3 scoreless innings in a win over the Marlins and now sits at 5-0 with a tremendous 1.88 ERA on the season... Cody Bellinger blasted his eighth home run in that victory... Jake Lamb crushed a pair of homers and drove home five runs as the Diamondbacks routed Jered Weaver and the Padres... Taijuan Walker hurled six shutout frames in a victory there... David Peralta (glute) homered in his return to the D'Backs lineup... Eduardo Nunez delivered a two-run double in the ninth inning on Friday to beat the Cardinals.. Mark Melancon worked a clean ninth inning to protect a one-run lead and earn a save in his first appearance back from the disabled list... Dansby Swanson went 2-for-2 with a homer plus a pair of walks in a victory over the Nationals... Yasiel Puig left Friday's game due to tightness in his back, but he's hopeful that he will be able to return to the lineup on Saturday... Jeremy Hellickson was forced to leave Friday's game with tightness in his back. He said afterwards that his exit was precautionary and that he expects to make his next start... Alexi Amarista homered and plated four in a victory over the Reds... Jacob deGrom fired seven shutout innings to beat the Angels... Michael Conforto provided the support by going 2-for-3 and clubbing his 11th home run... Josh Bell continued his hot-hitting, going 2-for-4 with a double in a loss to the Phillies... Wily Peralta earned a victory in his first appearance out of the bullpen, striking out five over two shutout innings against the Cubs... Kenta Maeda (hamstring) is expected to rejoin the Dodgers' rotation on Thursday... Logan Forsythe is expected to return from the disabled list on Tuesday. He'll primarily play third base initially while Justin Turner is sidelined with his Grade 1 hamstring strain... Anthony DeSclafani (elbow) has been cleared to resume his throwing program... The Brewers still aren't sure if Ryan Braun will return from the disabled list when first eligible on Sunday... Eric Thames (illness) singled and walked twice in his return to the Brewers' lineup... Jason Heyward will be activated from the disabled list on Saturday.
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