Kervin Castro arrived

Next up on our alphabetical list of San Francisco Giants player reviews: right-handed reliever Kervin Castro.

2021 review

10 games, 13.1 innings, 0.00 ERA, 2.12 FIP, 13 strikeouts, 4 walks, 0.4 fWAR, 0.8 rWAR

The defining part of Kervin Castro’s season didn’t come when he was on the mound. It didn’t even come during a game at all.

It came on the morning of the Giants first postseason game in five years. The team released their 26-player roster for the thrilling NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and there was Castro. Castro, who at 22, had all of 13.1 career innings to his name. Castro, making the postseason roster over veteran All-Star Johnny Cueto, who had pitching 114.2 innings that year alone.

It was a sign of trust, and on a team with championship aspirations, a modern front office, and the most important games of the year staring them in the face, trust is certainly earned, not handed out as a party favor.

The Giants added Castro to the 40-man roster this time last year, to protect him from the 2020 Rule 5 Draft. Yet even with that vote of faith, I don’t think anyone expected Castro to make his MLB debut this year while the Giants were still trying to win games.

But he did, and once he got there, he stayed there. It looks like he’ll be staying there for a long time, making hitters look pretty silly.

Role in 2022

Castro is just 22, and is under team control through the 2027 season.

We’re going to see him lining up next to Gregory Santos and Camilo Doval in the Giants bullpen for the foreseeable future.

I, for one, am excited.

Grade: A