Red Sox Outfielder Rusney Castillo Is The International League Batting Champion

Red Sox outfielder Rusney Castillo has been at AAA Pawtucket and has been stuck at AAA Pawtucket since June 18th 2016. In the years since then, he hit .263 in 2016, .314 in 2017, and in 2018 he hit .319. The next best batting average in the International league was Joey Meneses who hit .311 in 2018. So Rusney Castillo is the International League batting champion in 2018.

This is the first time a Paw Sox player won the batting title since 1981 when Wade Boggs hit .335 for the Paw Sox. Castillo still won the batting title this season even though he actually had less hits this season then Meneses. Meneses had 153 hits while Castillo had 151 hits in the 2018 season. This is the most hits a Paw Sox player had in a single season since 2008 when Joe Thurston had 160 hits.

How Castillo Got Here

“He’s earned it” when Paw Sox manager Kevin Boles talked about Rusney Castillo winning the batting title.

“Obviously he’s disappointed because the last week here, we tried playing him four or five days ago, and he’s been fighting shin splints and an ankle and he still wanted to play. Our judgment, there was no way watching his last game and how he had played and just the way he wasn’t moving down the line” Boles added.

Rusney Castillo played his final game of the 2018 season last Thursday August 30th against Lehigh Valley. In that game, he went 0 for 5 at the plate with one strike out.

“It was unfortunate because he’s a guy that wants to be in the lineup. Obviously he’s been our best hitter. But for him to win the batting title, it’s a great body of work what he’s done. He’s had a great year and he’s earned it. First one since Wade Boggs. So that’s a big accomplishment for him” Boles said when praising Castillo on the type of player he is.

Castillo has put in a ton of work this season, so much so that it really has become a mystery as to why he’s still in the minor leagues. The contract that Rusney Castillo signed with the Red Sox back in August 2014 is a big reason why he’s still stuck in the minor leagues.

But what Rusney Castillo has turned into, is someone who could play on most major league baseball teams. Castillo could be a trade candidate for most major league teams who want a center fielder who can play good defense and hit .270 over 140 games or so. At the price of $11.7 million dollars, that’s not a bad price for a major league team.