#20 Jose Casilla, RHP. BD: 5/21/1989. 6'1", 180 lbs. B-R, T-R.
Low A: 4-1, 1.16, 54.1 IP, 17 BB, 41 K's, GO/AO= 2.46, 14 Save.
Jose Casilla has always put up interesting looking stat lines, but has never pitched a lot. He arrived in Arizona in 2008 after two seasons in the DSL. He was a starter at first and put up a line of 3-1, 1.59, 22.2 IP, 1 BB, 19 K's, GO/AO= 2.27. I seem to remember that he went on the DL with arm soreness, but never required surgery. When he came back, the Giants moved him to the bullpen, most likely to limit his IP, and he's basically worked as a closer at each level since. He's always maintained a K/9 of just below 9 with a low BB/9 and an extreme ground ball tendency.
Jose was promoted to San Jose for the Cal League playoffs this last year and I got to see him pitch in Rancho Cucamonga. He he is a bit short for a pitcher with a stocky build. He has a sinking fastball that goes 89-92 and a sharp slider that the RC hitters were flailing at. BA recently named him as having the best slider in the organization, so that agrees with my observations.
The next stop would seem to be San Jose, although I could see the Giants jumping him to Richmond. Although sinker-slider pitchers can be effective closers, I see him as more of a typical 7'th or 8'th inning guy. It seems like he would make a good "stress situation" reliever where you bring him in with runners on base when you need either a K or a groundball DP to get out of the inning. He's Santiago Casilla's baby bro. I think there is a high probability of Jose having a decent MLB career as a setup reliever.
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It has been painful watching how slow the Giants have progressed him through the system. Being protected on the 40 man, but yet to really pitch above Augusta is frustrating for me. Do you think they just were trying to keep him and Stoffel at different levels to allow them both to close? I hope that isn't the case because I agree that he is more likely a 7th inning guy.
ReplyDeleteI also was at that RC playoff game that he pitched in and he seemed to remind me a lot of past Giant reliever Osiris Matos. They both have a similar stocky build, throw in the upper 80s to low 90s high, and both seemed to take a long while to move up the ladder while being placed on the 40 man early in their careers. Let's hope that Jose has a better career than good old Osiris