Castillo merits grounds-Wel of ASG support

There’s nothing wrong with Buster Posey and certainly not Yadier Molina. They’re what you’d want in a catcher, and they’ve got the World Series rings to prove it.

But they haven’t cornered the market on productive play behind the plate. There are a lot of All-Star candidates in the National League, including the Brewers’ Jonathan Lucroy, the Pirates’ Francisco Cervelli, the Nationals’ Wilson Ramos and maybe even the Marlins’ J.T. Realmuto.

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But before you cast your vote for any of those guys, take a moment to consider Welington Castillo. He deserves it for the work he’s done since joining the D-backs last June, with a little extra credit for surviving a difficult end to his tenure with the Cubs.

A career .255 hitter, the 29-year-old Castillo is hitting .298. He set a personal mark with 19 home runs last season, and he already has seven in 121 at-bats, putting him on pace to hit 20-plus this season, maybe even challenging 30.

“The offense he provides is pretty special,” said Arizona manager Chip Hale, who is hitting Castillo fifth, with even occasional starts in the cleanup spot. “But he gives us leadership, too. He’s been good about that stuff. He’s been a very, very big acquisition for us.”

Castillo is also doing good work behind the plate. He’s thrown out 37.5 percent of attempted basestealers, which ranks fifth in the NL.

What’s not to …

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