Thoughts on Alexi Casilla.

Humble opinion of one Twins Blogger -

I do believe Alexi Casilla is the future at 2B. His early season struggles coupled with the early season tear by Matt Tolbert likely means that the two will compete for the job in spring training. Casilla's ceiling is much higher. To me, he's comparable to an early Luis Castillo. 50+ stolen bases and a good on-base percentage. I do think that Casilla will have a little more pop than Castillo ever had though. Not so much in terms of home runs, but in doubles and such. I can't think of a decent comp right off-hand.

not quite as much as pecota likes him, but i think he can be the next luis castillo easily, and castillo is a 3-time all-star. hmm, maybe that means i do like him as much as pecota does. i admit i was more skeptical before i saw pecota vindicated on a similar (but less speedy) player in pedroia.

besides him as one of my favorite new players to use in 2k7 i like the kid... he does everything you would want from a 2B and the Twins won't need to re-sign castilla

During Casilla's call-up earlier this season I was able to see him in action at the Dome a couple of times.  At this point he's a bit of a mixed-bag.  In the long run I think he'll be just fine.

Casilla is a very energetic player.  He's one of those type, like Luis Castillo, who is always doing something.  In the box, on the basepaths, in the field; he's always moving around.  I really like how he garners so much of the opponent's attention when he's in the game.  He is a constant distraction.  He acts like he's a Tasmanian devil - constantly on the go and ready to wreck havoc.

The knock I have against him right now is that he's still learning how to control all of his energy.  I attribute this to his age and rookie status.  At times you can see him do all the little things right.  At other times he looks like he belongs in AA on a good day.  But, like I said, I believe this is due to his experience and can be rectified in the not-so-distant-future.  Twins have a pretty good track record of establishing baseball fundamentals, which also bodes well for Casilla's development.

I think in the next year or two the Twins are going to be quite happy with Casilla at 2B, that is after he learns to control himself a bit and keep his mind in the game a touch more.  I'm not sure if Casilla will be ready for next year, but if he is the Twins can save a few million bucks by letting Castillo go.

From a fantasy perspective, I think the comparisons to the early career of Luis Castillo is as accurate as can be expected.  A bunch of steals, average BA, and absent power is what Casilla bring to the plate right now.  I don't see him developing much power.  If he can get the hang of reaching base at a decent clip, he should satisfy many fantasy owners for a few of years.

to be the Twins' starting 2B next year, rostering him this season in my dynasty league. The biggest question from my perspective is where in the lineup he'll hit. If he's leading off (or even in the 2-hole), he'll score a TON of runs, probably hitting around .280 with a decent OBP and steals. That's solid production for a MI. OTOH, if he's hitting 8th or 9th or something like that, fewer runs and, probably, fewer stolen bases will mean a much less productive player.

Still, there's no clear leadoff guy in Twinkie Town going in, so my belief is that it's going to be his job to lose going into camp next Spring.