Castellanos' consistency paying off for suddenly hot Phillies

PHILADELPHIA -- Nick Castellanos said in Miami back in May that he has never been somebody to have a plan at the plate.

"See ball, hit ball," he said.

Castellanos’ free-swinging ways have caused headaches at times. It explains why he has seen a lower rate of fastballs than any other hitter in the Majors this season (minimum 1,500 pitches seen). It also explains why Astros right-hander Justin Verlander ignored his best instincts and followed a first-pitch fastball with an 0-1 curveball to Castellanos in the fourth inning on Tuesday night at Citizens Bank Park.

Castellanos crushed the pitch for a three-run home run, sending the Phillies to a 5-0 victory.

“I had a pretty good idea that I was going to see an offspeed pitch at some point in the at-bat,” Castellanos said.

Castellanos said he kicked himself after taking the first-pitch fastball, figuring it might be the only one he saw in the at-bat. But then, the man without a plan said he always planned to hit something with spin anyway.

“As [assistant hitting coach] Dustin Lind said, ‘Sometimes you have to pay your taxes,’” Castellanos said.

“I kind of went away from my instincts there,” Verlander said. “First pitch, I just threw him a heater that my instincts said he wasn’t on, and [I] probably could have gone back to it -- and should have gone back to it -- and didn’t. That’s the game of baseball. That’s the chess match. You’ll have to ask Nick, but I felt like he was sitting soft.”

Castellanos’ 18th homer of the season gave Phillies right-hander Aaron Nola a four-run lead. Nola pitched seven scoreless innings, striking out six and walking one. He received an ovation as he walked off the field in the seventh. Castellanos waited for him in front of the dugout steps and congratulated him for a fantastic effort.

Nola appreciated Castellanos’ efforts, too.

“When Casty gets hot, he gets hot,” Nola said.

Castellanos has quietly been one of baseball’s most consistent hitters for months, batting .280 with 14 home runs, 54 RBIs and an .813 OPS over 85 games from May 19 through Tuesday. Castellanos’ OPS in that span ranks 41st out of 133 qualified hitters in baseball.

It is a remarkable leap from where he started. Castellanos batted .194 with four home runs and 17 RBIs through May 18. He ranked 140th out of 144 players in baseball (minimum 150 plate appearances) with a .556 OPS.

But Phillies manager Rob Thomson kept playing him. He answered countless questions about it. Couldn’t Castellanos use a couple of days off? Shouldn’t he get one because somebody else might be better?

No, Thomson said.

“Because I trust him,” Thomson said Tuesday, recalling his decision to stick with Castellanos. “I know he can hit. It’d be one thing if he didn’t work at it and showed me that he didn’t care. He cares. He works at it. I know that there are times when he doesn’t look good, but there are times when everybody doesn’t look good. He really works at it, and I’m happy for him that he’s had this turnaround.”

Castellanos remembers those “clearing the mind” questions, too. Specifically, he remembered being asked about it in Cincinnati in late April.

He said he must have been hitting under .100 at the time. He was hitting .174.

“Thomper told me Opening Day after batting practice, ‘162?’” Castellanos said, referring to playing all 162 games. “I just pointed back at him and nodded my head. For me to get off to a slow start and for him to stick to his word, as a player, now I know where he’s at. I think, from a coaching standpoint, trust is the biggest thing you can have for your players.

"When I got that question in the Cincinnati locker room, ‘How important is it for a manager to have your back?’ For sure. Because if you don’t feel like a manager has your back, that’s pretty uninspiring to lace up your cleats for.”

Castellanos has started more than half his games this season hitting sixth or seventh. He has hit no lower than fifth in the past 13 games.

He hit fifth on Tuesday.

“Well, you’ve got to earn it first,” Thomson said. “And he’s earned it. That’s just the way it works.”

Castellanos thinks hitting higher in the lineup is helping because his style of hitting is “always like glorified batting practice."

"I don’t really have an approach," he said. "I look for the baseball and hit it as hard as I can. Having protection behind me usually forces the pitcher to throw to me more.”

But Castellanos knows he will continue to see breaking balls and offspeed pitches in the coming weeks and months. It might never change.

But he has found a way to make it work.

“I’m doing the best I can, man,” he said.