Young Castellanos continues to face high expectations

DETROIT -- No one expects a 23-year-old to be a finished product in the real world and they really shouldn't in baseball, either.

Let's face it, most players aren't like Miguel Cabrera and Mike Trout, who can jump right into the big leagues and be immediate stars.

Nick Castellanos had high expectations put upon him when he was made the Tigers' starting third baseman last season at 22.

Offensively, Castellanos acquitted himself pretty well, batting .259 with a .306 on-base percentage, .394 slugging percentage, 11 home runs and 66 RBI in 148 games.

Defensively, Castellanos was rated the worst defender at his position.

In fairness to Castellanos, he had been moved to the outfield after the Tigers acquired Prince Fielder and moved Miguel Cabrera to first base, so he hadn't played the infield in a while.

This past offseason Castellanos traveled to Lubbock, Tex., to work with defensive coordinator Matt Martin on improving his first step and anticipation at third base.

While Castellanos has improved defensively, his offense has slipped a bit this season.

In 71 games so far, Castellanos is hitting .229 with a .278 on-base percentage, .349 slugging percentage, four home runs and 28 RBI.

Tigers manager Brad Ausmus finally decided to sit Castellanos against New York's Masahiro Tanaka June 21 and then again June 22 in Cleveland against Trevor Bauer.

"He walked by and told me I wasn't playing, and he could tell I was upset, so he sat next to me, and we had probably a three or four-minute conversation," Castellanos said. "He goes, 'Don't think too much into it. I'm just giving you a breather. We all need it at some point.' From the outside looking in, just stop the cage work, stop the mechanics, stop the drills, just go up there and hit. 

"It was funny he said that, because that's exactly the guy I was. I was never a guy that hit in the cage, I was never a guy that looked at video. I'm not saying I didn't care, but I didn't think twice about it. I just kind of went out and did it. I'm trying to get back to that."

Ausmus said it's something every player goes through.

"I've been there, where you're making so many adjustments with your hands and your feet and your stride, and where your weight is that you just forget to see the ball and hit it," Ausmus said. "Sometimes you just have to take a step back."

It's early but so far things appear to be working.

On the homestand, Castellanos is batting .571 (4-7).

"He just looks more comfortable," Ausmus said. "The one thing I will say is that when he gets to two strikes, he'll spread out, and try to fight off some pitches. He did that some last year. But he doesn't have a lot going on -- I think he's just seeing the ball and hitting it."

The other adjustment Castellanos is having to make is in getting used to a lesser role.

As a young player on a team with established veterans, Castellanos is not expected to carry the load.

"Before the big leagues, I've always been the guy on the team," Castellanos said. "Doesn't matter if I was in high school, A-ball, Double-A, whatever -- I was the guy. And you come to the big leagues, and you have a locker room full of Miguel, Victor (Martinez), Torii (Hunter), JD (Martinez) and all these people, and then all of a sudden, you as a person are not the guy anymore.."

Castellanos also is continually working on his defense, hoping for a time when Ausmus no longer takes him out late in a game for a defensive replacement.

"I would say that I'm used to it now, but it's not something that I'm happy with," Castellanos said. "I wanna be in there in the ninth inning, but I also understand that it's Brad's decision as a manager to make sure that when we have a lead, we have the best defense that he thinks is out there. And if that's (Andrew) Romine at third, then obviously as a player, I respect that. 

"I don't have to like it, but the only thing I can do going forward is just to try to get better defensively, and hopefully I continue to make that decision harder and harder for him."

The Tigers need Castellanos to contribute but he's going to do so at his own pace.

While he can learn from guys like Cabrera, he can't expect to be like Cabrera.

A better example for Castellanos would be J.D. Martinez, who really has come into his own the last two seasons with the Tigers at age 26-27.

Martinez was not an overnight success and was released by the Houston Astros before last season.

It can take time to find yourself as a major league player and as impatient as fans can be, especially when so much is expected of the team, they're just going to have to give Castellanos some time.