Welcome back to the big leagues, Wilkin Castillo. The 35-year-old journeyman catcher was called up by the Marlins earlier this week after Jorge Alfaro landed on the injured list with a concussion.
Castillo started behind the plate against the Phillies on Saturday afternoon, and in the seventh inning he doubled in two runs to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 4-3 lead. The Marlins went on to win the game 5-3 (box score). Here is Castillo's double:
The two-bagger was career MLB hit No. 12 for Castillo, and his first in more than 10 years. His last MLB hit was a pinch-hit RBI single with the Reds on June 20, 2009, when he was 25. Castillo is, technically, riding a three-game big league hitting streak.
According to @EliasSports , Wilkin Castillo (10 years, 2 days) is the first player with 10+ years between RBI since Jerome Williams went 10 years, 347 days, from Sept. 11, 2003 (w/ SF at SD) and Aug. 24, 2014 (w/ PHI, vs. STL).
— Andre Fernandez (@FernandezAndreC) June 22, 2019
Miami signed Castillo to a minor-league contract over the winter and he hit .253/.327/.354 with two home runs in 31 Triple-A games before being recalled. Saturday's game was his first MLB game since that pinch-hitting appearance in 2009. He's waited a long time to get back to the show.
Between MLB stints, Castillo bounced around Triple-A with seven different organizations, and also played with several teams in Mexico and in an independent league. He has appeared in over 1,400 professional games since starting his career in 2004.
