Harold

Castro

Castro was removed from Colorado’s 40-man roster last October after batting .252/.275/.314 across 270 plate appearances. The 30-year-old offers some defensive versatility, but hasn’t produced enough at the dish at the highest level to hang onto a bench spot.

In turn, Castro was removed from the Rockies’ 40-man roster. The 29-year-old wasn’t productive in a part-time role this year, posting a weak .252/.275/.314 batting line in 270 plate appearances.

Rodgers was a late scratch from the team’s starting lineup on Monday and still isn’t at full strength on Tuesday, so the Rockies will play it safe and give him another day to rest. Hittin’ Harold Castro will draw another start in his place at second base and will bat seventh for the Rockies against Charlie Morton and the Braves.

Doyle had to be carted off the field on Thursday after crashing into the center field wall, so it’s awfully encouraging to hear that he’s just considered day-to-day and not looking at an extended stint on the injured list. Harold Castro will start in center field and bat sixth for the Rockies on Friday evening in Colorado.

There were very few bright spots in this one for the Rockies, but Castro delivered a pair of run-scoring hits and is now batting .289/.309/.368 with nine runs scored and 14 RBI across 82 plate appearances this season.

Castro smacked a go-ahead RBI single off of Hunter Greene in the second inning to put the Rockies on top 2-1. He then delivered a go-ahead two-run double off of Lucas Sims in the seventh that broke a 6-6 deadlock. With the three-hit night, Hittin’ Harold is now hitting .254/.278/.313 with zero homers, 12 RBI and no stolen bases through his first 73 plate appearances with the Rockies.

With its huge outfield, Coors Field seemed like the perfect fit for Castro, who has made a modest MLB living based on his ability to hit liners and bloops in front of outfielders. And he is hitting .333 through 24 at-bats at home. However, he’s just 5-for-31 on the road, and since he has nothing to offer besides singles, he really must bat at least .300 to be of use to a major league team. The Rockies are giving him quite a bit of playing time at second against righties now, but that should change soon if he doesn’t pick it up.

No word yet on the reason for the late scratch, but Montero was in the team’s original lineup and then replaced by Harold Castro in the update. Expect Rockies’ skipper Bud Black to provide an update on Montero’s status before the end of the evening.

Hittin’ Harold earned a spot on the Rockies’ Opening Day roster by hitting .302 (13-for-43) with no homers, no stolen bases and six RBI during Cactus League play. He’ll play a versatile bench role for the Rockies and shouldn’t deliver much fantasy value.

Castro has a decent shot at making the Rockies’ Opening Day roster in a reserve role after being non-tendered by the Tigers earlier this offseason. The versatile 29-year-old infielder batted .271/.300/.381 with seven homers in 443 plate appearances last season for Detroit. He should benefit tremendously from Coors Field’s batting-average inflating outfield dimensions, but doesn’t offer much else as a fantasy contributor moving forward.