Strength Gains Are Apparent In Castellani’s Stuff

LAKE ELSINORE, Calif.—Ryan Castellani could have an offseason. He just chooses not to have one.

Almost every day of the fall and winter months, Castellani, the Rockies’ No. 15 prospect, drives from his Phoenix-area home to the Rockies spring training complex in nearby Scottsdale, Ariz.

There, with only a handful of other players around, he lifts weights for hours, works one-on-one with coaches on mechanics, and fine-tunes every aspect of his pitching.

It is all voluntary, with no one compelling Castellani to be there. For all those months, when others are taking time off and sometimes no one else is around, Castellani is spending countless hours at the complex, working to better himself.

“Monday through Friday I’m there, sometimes Saturdays, that’s where I put in all my work all offseason,” said Castellani, the Rockies’ second-round draft pick and No. 48 overall in 2014. “’It’s a great environment because it’s kind of our quiet little group of 10-20 guys, all Rockies, and everybody is just focused on the goal and working hard together. That’s something I’ve been really fortunate to have.”

The results from two years of that dedicated offseason work are starting to become apparent. The 6-foot-3 Castellani was drafted at 195 pounds but now says he is 215, and his fastball has ticked up from 88-93 mph to 92-95 with his added strength.

He leads the California League with 83 innings pitched for high Class A Modesto and, having just turned 20 in April, was the youngest pitcher selected to the league’s all-star team by more than 18 months.

In the California-Carolina League all-star game this week Castellani showed he was worth that youthful distinction, bouncing back from a leadoff homer by Indians No. 5 prospect Bobby Bradley to quickly retire the side, including a strikeout of Nationals No. 16 prospect Drew Ward.

Even Bradley, who hit the homer on a 94 mph fastball, came away impressed.

“He’s got some good stuff,” Bradley said. “A lot of movement on his fastball. It was kind of tough to pick up.”

It all traces back to Castellani’s voluntary offseason work at the complex.

It was during those workouts in January, well before almost any other player in the system had arrived, Castellani found a circle changeup grip that suited him best and developed the pitch into a lethal secondary offering.

It was there, in the lonely quiet of the early mornings, Castellani settled on a slider grip that allowed him to throw it harder than before, putting more pressure on the index finger and refining his delivery to get it up to 82-85 mph from 79-82.

It was there he lifted to the point he became a strong, well-built pitcher from the thin adolescent he was when drafted out of high school.

“To me being at the complex all the time is the thing that’s the thing that’s separated me and allowed me to grow more, be comfortable, and just develop all the time as a pitcher,” he said. “It’s not required, but I want to be there.”

Castellani’s increased durability and effectiveness from the voluntary work he put in have been starkly evident.

Castellani pitched just 37 innings across 10 starts his first year and was capped at 80-85 pitches per start his second season.

Now in year three of his professional career, Castellani has pitched at least seven innings in seven of his last nine starts, while throwing at least 90 pitches in all nine of those outings.

He’s kept his swing-and-miss stuff into the late innings, averaging nearly a strikeout per inning in sixth, seventh and eighth innings this year and holding opponents to an .258 batting average overall in those frames.

Bigger, stronger and more durable than ever as a result of his offseason work at the complex, Castellani excelling like never before.

“It’s worked out this year,” he said. “It hasn’t been surprising to me, but it’s been reassuring in my work ethic and development that I’ve had.”