Miguel Castro #50

Growing up, Pedro Martínez was his hero because of the way he went about his business and attacked hitters…met Martínez for the first time in 2019...Dad, Miguel Sr., trained as an amateur boxer in his youth, but was unable to pursue a pro career due to a lack of resources and a mentor who could guide him…eventually moved on to work in the meat industry...Owns an estimated 250 pairs of Air Jordan sneakers - from Jordan 1's to 13's and various others - because he has always liked fashion and the different color combinations that make Jordans stand apart from other sneakers...Donated a fully functional, pre-used, fire truck with equipment in the off season to his community in Villa Hermosa...His hometown had been without a working truck. Fulfilled a dream last season on June 12, 2023 when his parents, Miguel Sr. and Yesenia, visited Chase Field and saw him pitch in the Majors for the first time…Miguel Sr. also got to throw out a ceremonial first pitch, with his son as the catcher, and later that night saw Miguel Jr. record the save vs. Phillies.

2023

Went 6-6 with seven saves, a 4.31 ERA (31 ER in 64.2 IP) and 1.18 WHIP over 75 games in his first season with the D-backs...Set career bests in games, wins, saves and WHIP. Finished first in the NL in games and tied for second in the Majors (also: Emmanuel Clase/CLE and Justin Topa/SEA), behind Matt Brash/SEA (78)...Earned the first win of his D-backs career on May 6 vs. Nationals (ER in IP)...His save on May 28 vs. Red Sox surpassed his previous season high of four set in 2015 while with the Blue Jays...Tied a career high seven straight games (6.0 IP, 20 BF) without allowing a hit from June 15-30 (also: 2019 with Orioles)...Set a single-season, career-best and team-high 12 straight scoreless road games (11.2 IP) from April 2 to May 23 (previous: eight with Orioles, 2019)…went 1-0 with three saves, a 0.86 WHIP and 12 strikeouts in the span...His sixth win on Aug. 24 vs. Reds set a career high (prev: five in 2022 with NYY)...Placed on the Paternity List from Sept. 22-25...Finished the season with a career and team-high 14-game scoreless streak, with a 0.95 WHIP and 17 strikeouts over 12.2 innings...Limited opponents to a .171 average (18-for-105) off his slider, with 33 strikeouts and a 33.8 whiff pct...Limited righties to a .206 average (32-for-155) with 41 strikeouts and nine walks and lefties to a .226 average (19-for-84) with 19 strikeouts...POSTSEASON: Went 0-1 with a 10.50 ERA (seven ER in 6.0 IP) in eight games.

2022

Limited to 34 games with the Yankees due to a strained right shoulder and went 5-0 with a 4.03 ERA (13 ER in 29.0 IP) and 31 strikeouts…tallied career bests in wins and home runs per 9.0 IP (0.62)....In 19 home games, was 3-0 with a 2.20 ERA (4 ER in 16.1 IP), 20 strikeouts, a .217 opponent average and 1.04 WHIP....26 of his 34 outings were scoreless…did not allow a run in 13 of his first 14 appearances from April 8-May 12 (2-0, 1.46 ERA; 2 ER in 12.1 IP)...Held opposing batters to a .213 average (13-for-61) with runners on-base....Allowed just two home runs, both to right-handed batters (131 BF)....Placed on the injured list on July 13 (strained right shoulder)…reinstated on Oct. 3....Appeared in two games in the AL Championship Series vs. Yankees…tossed 2.0 hitless innings with two strikeouts.

2021

Had a career-best 3.45 ERA (27 earned runs/70.1 innings) in a career-high 69 games...His 0.90 HR/9 and 6.14 H/9 were also career-bests...Led Mets relievers with a career-high 69 games and also paced Mets bullpen arms in innings pitched...Tied a career-high with three wins (also 2017)...Struck out a career-high 77 batters...Held opposing batters to a .189 (48-254) batting average, 10th best among NL relievers (min. 50.0 innings)...Tied a career-high with four strikeouts in a game twice (May 25 vs. Colorado & July 26 vs. Atlanta)...Posted a 1.64 ERA (two earned runs/11.0 innings) in April...Had a 1.15 ERA (two earned runs/15.2 innings) in 15 games from July 11-August 14...Was used as an opener twice...His two starts matched his career total entering the season...Pitched 1.0 scoreless inning in each of those outings. 

2020

Began the season with Baltimore before being dealt to the Mets at the trade deadline...Tied a career-high with four strikeouts in 2.0 innings on Aug. 5 vs. Miami...Struck out at least one batter in 23 of his 26 appearances... Recorded a 13.86 K/9, 14th-best among all qualifying relievers... Was tied for ninth among major-league relievers with 38 strikeouts...Surrendered four homers and 13 walks in 24.2 innings...Faced his former club in his first appearance with the Mets...Threw a scoreless inning at Camden Yards...Struck out the side on Sept. 16 at Philadelphia to earn his first win with the Mets.

2019

His 65 appearances were the second-most on the Orioles (LHP Paul Fry - 66)...His 73.1 innings as a reliever ranked as the 10th-most in the AL...Worked a season-high 3.0 innings twice (5/10 vs. LAA and 6/1 vs. SF)...23 of his 65 appearances were more than 1.0 inning...Posted a 0.89 ERA (2 ER/20.1 IP) when pitching on three-or-more days of rest...Had a season-long scoreless stretch of 9.2 IP (10 games) from 8/25-9/17 ... Recorded his first save of the season on 4/2 at TOR; was his first save since 4/23/15 vs. BAL, while with TOR...Worked to a 3.72 ERA (12 ER/29.0 IP) with a .183 (19-for-104) opponents batting average in 29 appearances after the All-Star Break...Allowed just three of 17 inherited runners to score after the All-Star Break; compared to allowing 17 of 30 inherited runners to score in the first half...Allowed a career-high six runs (a career-high-tying five earned) on 9/18 vs. TOR (0.2 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 2 K, HR); allowed a go-ahead grand slam to Randal Grichuk ...27 of his 38 earned runs allowed during the season came at Oriole Park...Had a 2.91 ERA (11 ER/34.0 IP) in 35 road games, as opposed to a 6.18 ERA (27 ER/39.1 IP) in 30 games at Oriole Park...Allowed home runs in three-straight appearances (4/2-6) for the first time in his career...Allowed opponents to hit .429 (6-for-14) with the bases loaded, including two grand slams and 20 RBI.

2018

Appeared in a career-high 63 games; entered the season with a combined 76 appearances in his previous three seasons... Led Orioles relievers in innings pitched (83.2); ranked second in appearances (62) and fourth in strikeouts (55)...His 83.2 innings pitched in relief ranked as the fourth-most among major league relievers... Pitched to a 1.84 ERA (3 ER/14.2 IP) in his final 11 games of the season... Worked a season-high 4.2 innings on 5/10 vs. KC...Allowed eight of 38 inherited runners to score (21.1%), the second-best inherited runners scored percentage on the team... 19 of his 62 relief appearances on the season were 2.0-or-more innings... Lost back-to-back appearances for the first time in his career (8/7 at TB, 8/10 vs. BOS)... Made 32 road appearances, going 1-4 with a 4.23 ERA (21 ER/44.2 IP) and 31 home appearances, going 1-3 with a 3.67 ERA (17 ER/41.2 IP)... Made his lone start of the season, second of his career, on 7/15 vs. TEX; worked 2.2 innings, allowing four runs on one hit with three walks and two strikeouts.

2017

Acquired from Colorado on 4/7 in exchange for RHP Jon Keller...Spent most of the season with the Major League club around three stints with Double-A Bowie...Appeared in a career-high 39 games, including one start, and posted a record of 3-3 with a 3.53 ERA (26 ER/66.1 IP)... Recorded a career-high 38 strikeouts at the Major League level... Began the season with Bowie and made one appearance for the Baysox before being recalled by the Orioles on 5/17…Made his Orioles debut that same day and tossed 1.0 scoreless inning in relief (1 K)...Went 3-0 with a 4.44 ERA (12 ER/24.1IP) in six appearances for Bowie...Earned his first career win on 6/20 vs. CLE after tossing 0.2 hitless innings in relief (1 K)...Worked a career-high 6.0 innings on 8/3 vs. DET…Entered the game in the third inning and worked 6.0 shutout frames, allowing just one hit with one walk and two strikeouts...Made his first Major League start in his final appearance of the season on 9/30 at TB…Took the loss after allowing three runs on six hits in 3.1 innings (1 HR, 1 BB, 3 K)... Posted a 2.37 ERA (10 ER/38.0 IP) and a .198 average against (26-for-131) in 19 appearances at Oriole Park...In the month of August, went 1-0 with 1.50 ERA (4 ER/24.0 IP) in 10 games, the lowest ERA of any month of his Major League career (min. 10.0 IP)...Posted a 16.1 scoreless inning streak from 8/18-9/4, the longest streak among all O's pitchers in 2017...Held right-handed hitters to a .193 (28-for-145) while with the Orioles.

2016

Made his second Opening Day roster, first with the Rockies, and recorded a 6.14 ERA (14.2 IP, 10 ER) over three stints on the Major League roster...Made 19 appearances over three stints on the active roster … went scoreless in 13 of 19 appearances with no hits allowed in nine games...Pitched a career-high two innings and struck out a career-high four batters April 9 vs. San Diego...Made six appearances in the month of April, allowing one run over six innings pitched before being placed on the 15-day disabled list on April 22 (retroactive to April 18) with right shoulder inflammation … was on a rehab assignment from May 13 until being reinstated May 18 and subsequently optioned to Triple-A Albuquerque...Recalled again May 20 and optioned June 6 … was recalled June 14 and optioned for the final time on June 25 … placed on 7-day disabled Aug. 15, missing remainder of Triple-A season, again, due to shoulder inflammation...Was 2-3 with a 10.34 ERA (15.2 IP, 18 ER) in 16 appearances with Albuquerque.