Cincinnati Reds: Luis Castillo’s perfect All-Star performance is a preview

Luis Castillo dominated the one inning of work in last night’s All-Star Game much like the Cincinnati Reds’ ace has dominated the competition all season.

Luis Castillo‘s brilliance was on full display during last night’s MLB All-Star Game. The Cincinnati Reds‘ right-handed dominated the three batters he faced much like he’s dominated opposing hitters all season. Castillo’s perfect inning of work is just a preview of the potential that the young 26-year-old possesses going forward.

Before we get into Castillo’s performance and what it means for him going forward, can we just dismiss every trade rumor that has Castillo headed to the New York Yankees? C’mon, does anyone honestly think that the Reds front office will deal their best pitcher, who’s under team control for the foreseeable future, to the Bronx Bombers? No, it’s not happening.

Now, onto Castillo’s performance. It really should come as no surprise to anyone who’s watched Luis Castillo all season. La Piedra Day has become a local holiday in the Queen City and Castillo’s performance this season has given Reds Country hope that they’ve finally their ace.

Castillo is a young, controllable, flame-throwing right-hander who’s developed one of the best out-pitches in the game today. Castillo’s changeup has been a topic of discussion all week amongst the throng of All-Stars who descended on Cleveland.

During the broadcast last night, Los Angeles Dodgers’ skipper Dave Roberts compared Castillo to Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez. Earlier in the week, Bobby Nightengale of the Cincinnati Enquirer talked with Houston Astros’ infielder Alex Bregman. Bregman, who’s Astros were swept by the Reds earlier this season, had this to say:

“We’ve been talking about that as a team since we’ve faced him. The fastball and changeup look identical out of the hand. He’s a superstar. He’s a stud. Oh man, he’s probably top two or top three pitchers in the game right now from our perspective.”

That is high praise from a manager who’s been to two consecutive World Series and from a two-time All-Star who’s considered one of the up-and-coming young talents in the game. Both see greatness when they look at what Luis Castillo brings to the table.

Castillo struck out the first two batters he faced during the fourth inning of last night’s All-Star Game. Carlos Santana and J.D. Martinez were blown away by Castillo’s upper-90s fastball and utterly confused by his unworldly changeup. Bregman grounded to second to end Castillo’s perfect 1-2-3 inning.

The sky is the limit for the Cincinnati Reds’ All-Star. If he continues his ascent, last night’s showing in Cleveland will definitely not be his last. Unfortunately for his teammate, Sonny Gray was not part of the activities, as he was never called upon to pitch. The American League won yet again, this time outlasting the National League by a score of 4-3 to win the MLB All-Star Game.