Miami Hurricanes catcher Adrian Del Castillo falls 67th to Arizona Diamondbacks

Miami Hurricanes catcher Adrian DelCastillo was the 67th pick overall in the second round by Arizona Diamondbacks in the Major League Baseball draft on Monday. Castillo fell from a projected top 10 pick in the first round before the season to 35th before the draft and eventually 67th.

Del Castillo’s numbers went down in 2021 after hitting 12 home runs and driving in 72 runs with a .331 batting average, .418 on-base percentage and .576 slugging percentage as a freshman in 2019. Del Castillo had three home runs and 37 RBIs with .275/.380/.395 this past season. Arizona has the worst record in MLB at 26-66.

Cather Carson Kelly has been one of the bright spots for the Diamondbacks in 2021 with a 260/.385/.460 slash line, eight HRs and 26 RBIs. Del Castillo was officially chosen in Competitive Balance Round B, which is essentially a compensation round after the second round is completed.

Del Castillo finished his Miami Hurricanes career with a slash line of .311/.410/.499, 17 HRs and 124 RBIs in 131 college games. Del Castillo was originally selected in the 36th round of the 2018 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox. The draft has been shortened to 20 rounds commencing this year.

"35. Adrian Del Castillo, C, MiamiDel Castillo was a polarizing prospect entering the year, and his underwhelming performance (.275/.380/.395 with three home runs) didn’t win over critics.The book on him remains that he’s a natural hitter with untapped power potential who may have to move from behind the plate because of his receiving and a weak arm that isn’t aided by an elongated throwing motion.Should that scenario come to fruition, he’ll likely end up as a first baseman or, at best, as a range-challenged left fielder. A switch to either position would necessitate that he hit for more power, which means the team that picked him would be hoping he turns into the inverse of who he was when they made the selection.Maybe it works out — Del Castillo’s intelligence is held in high regard and there are countless recent examples of contact-first hitters learning to master their juice; the path of least resistance, though, has Del Castillo deemed competent enough to catch during the automated ball-strike era, permitting him the leeway to remain who he is as a hitter."

The above scouting report on Del Castillo is courtesy of CBS Sports. Scouts love the ability Del Castillo has as a hitter. Del Castillo will have to play better this summer in his inaugural minor league season than he did during his final spring with the Miami Hurricanes. Finding the right position for Del Castillo will be critical.

The selection of Del Castillo by Arizona is the 48th consecutive MLB Draft that a Miami player has been selected. Del Castillo joins former Miami pitcher Slade Cecconi who was the 33rd overall pick in the 2020 MLB Draft by Arizona. Miami pitcher Jake Smith was drafted 171st overall in the sixth round by the Anaheim Angels.