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Seasons at Stanford: 2006-08
Professional Baseball Organization: Houston Astros (1st round, 10th pick overall - 2008)
Professional Baseball Career: Was chosen by the Houston Astros in the first round (10th pick overall) of the 2008 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft...began his professional career with a 39-game stint for the Tri-City Valley Cats in the New York-Penn League, a short-season single A circuit...batted .275 (38-for-138) with 10 runs scored, nine doubles, two home runs and 12 RBI...was drafted previously by the Boston Red Sox in 2005 (43rd round), but did not sign a professional contract.
At Stanford: Finished his three-year Stanford career with a .309 batting average (167-for540) with 108 runs scored, 26 doubles, five triples, 18 home runs, 106 RBI and 11 stolen bases in 162 games (133 starts)...ranks in Stanford's single-season top-10 for at-bats (t-10th with 279 in 2008) and hits (5th with 105 in 2008)...posted a career .992 fielding percentage, with just 10 errors in 1,187 total chances...also threw out 35.4 pct. of attempted base-stealers (33 of 93)...split his time between first base and catcher in his first two seasons, but started 64 games behind the plate in 2008...batted .391 (25-for-64) with five doubles, two triples, three home runs and 20 RBI in 16 career NCAA Tournament games.
As a Junior in 2008: Put together a tremendous season, starting all 67 games and batting .376 with (105-for-279) with 68 runs scored, 18 doubles, three triples, 14 home runs and 73 RBI...earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors, second-team All-America accolades from Rivals.com and third-team All-America recognition by Baseball America, ABCA/Rawlings and Ping!Baseball, while he was a finalist for the Johnny Bench award honoring college baseball's top catcher...led Stanford in batting average, hits, doubles and RBI, while ranking second in homers and slugging percentage (.613)...ranked among the Pac-10 leaders for hits (1st), total bases (2nd - 171), doubles (t-3rd), RBI (t-3rd), runs scored (4th), sacrifice flies (4th) and batting average (7th)...was named the club Most Valuable Player, while earning the Jack Shepard Memorial Award given annually to the Stanford player with the team's highest batting average that meets the minimum standards...left-handed batter hit .373 (44-for-118) off left-handed pitching, while logging a .379 mark (61-for-161) off right-handers...batted an incredible .411 (39-for-95) with runners in scoring position...hit at a .381 clip (40-for-105) with three home runs and 21 RBI in 24 Pac-10 games...posted 32 multi-hit games, along with 21 multi-RBI contests...set his career high with four hits on four occasions - March 1 vs. Cal State Fullerton, March 5 at Saint Mary's, April 5 vs. Arizona State and April 26 vs. USC...established a career standard with four RBI on four occasions as well - April 26 vs. USC, May 3 vs. San Jose State, May 12 vs. Santa Clara and in the June 7 Super Regional-clinching win at Cal State Fullerton...logged a career-best 13-game hitting streak from April 16-May 4, going 28-for-57 (.491) with 20 runs scored, two doubles, one triple, two home runs and 21 RBI...was a .413 hitter (19-for-46) with five doubles, three home runs and 17 RBI in 11 postseason games...went 4-for-9 with a double, home run and five RBI in two games vs. Pepperdine to determine the Regional champion, and was named to the Stanford Regional All-Tournament team...was 5-for-8 with a double, home run and six RBI in the Cardinal's two-game sweep of Cal State Fullerton in the Super Regional...was named to the All-College World Series team after going 6-for-18 (.333) with four runs, one double, one homer and four RBI in Omaha.
As a Sophomore in 2007: Struggled out of the gate with an injury and finished with a batting average of just .167 (17-for-102), one homer, 14 RBI and one stolen base in 42 games (26 starts)...made 20 of those starts at first base, while and splitting the other six with three each at catcher and designated hitter...added three doubles, 13 runs scored, 17 walks, a hit by pitch and two sacrifice flies...fielded at a .980 clip with five errors in 248 defensive chances...had one two-hit game and three multiple-RBI contests, including one with three RBI...hit .158 (6-38) with three RBI in 19 Pac-10 games (11 starts).
As a Freshman In 2006: Finished the season with a .283 batting average (45-for-159), three homers, 19 RBI and a share of the team lead with five stolen bases...added 27 runs scored, five doubles, two triples, 19 walks, two hit by pitches, two sacrifice flies and five sacrifice bunts...led all Stanford freshmen with 53 games played and 40 starts, making 37 of those starts at first base and three at catcher...had 12 multiple-hit contests with a trio of three-hit games, as well as four multiple-RBI contests while driving in three runs once... had a .993 fielding percentage, with only three errors in a team-high 443 defensive chances - including a team-best 417 putouts)...made his collegiate debut February 3 vs. Cal State Fullerton, while his first hit was a solo home run February 4 against the Titans...posted a 12-game hitting streak (.395, 17-for-43, 2 HR, 7 RBI, SB) from May 7-26...hit .319 (36-for-113) following the team's annual March break for finals after posting just a .196 (9-for-46) batting average before the break... hit .302 (16-for-53) with a homer, nine RBI and two stolen bases in 19 Pac-10 games (15 starts)...had triples in back-to-back NCAA Regional games at Texas (June 3) and versus North Carolina State (June 4, while going 6-for-18 (.333) with three RBI in five postseason contests overall.
High School: Graduated in 2005 from Castro Valley (Calif). High School...listed among Street and Smith's 2005 High School All-America Prep Seniors to Watch...named the 10th-best high school prospect in Northern California by the San Francisco Chronicle in 2005...ranked the 27th best catcher in the nation by Team One in 2005...chosen three times to the All-Hayward Area Athletic League team (2003-05) and was named the 2005 HAAL Player of the Year...won a CIF Award for Athletes and the North Coast Section Athlete Award three times (2003-05)...chosen as his school's Athlete of the Year in 2005...captain of his school's team in his junior and senior campaigns...led his squad to three consecutive North Coast Section playoff appearances (2003-05)...compiled a .400 batting average in his three-year varsity prep career with 20 doubles, nine triples, eight homers and 76 RBI...added a career .611 slugging percentage and a .486 on-base mark...a three-time California Interscholastic Federation Award for Athletes and North Coast Section Athlete Award winner...also lettered twice in basketball as a guard...earned 2004 first-team All-HAAL honors while leading the league in three-point shooting...coached in baseball by Jon Lavine.
Other Amateur Baseball: Had a huge summer in 2007 playing for the Cape Cod Baseball League champion and 31-12 Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox by hitting .341 (44-for-129) with four homers, seven doubles, 24 RBI, six stolen bases and 22 walks over 39 games to earn an All-League selection as well as a spot in the CCBL All-Star Game...hit .286 (34-for-119) with two homers, 11 RBI and five stolen bases playing for the Anchorage Bucs of the Alaska Baseball League in 2006, helping the club to 26-19-1 overall record as well as a 20-14 league mark and second place finish in the ABL...named to All-ABL as a utility player in 2006...spent the summer of 2005 playing with the Danville Hoots Baseball Club, batting .410 with two homers, six doubles and 15 RBI...was named the Most Valuable Offensive Player at the 2005 Sierra Nevada Classic...helped the 2005 Hoots place in the Top 16 at the 18-and-under Perfect Game National Championships...participated in the 2004 Area Code Games...played with the NorCal Baseball Club in 2003 and 2004.
Personal Information: Son of Tom and Lori Castro...has one brother, Ryan...said that what sets Stanford Baseball apart from other collegiate programs is "the hard-working atmosphere and the best coaching staff in the nation"...majored in sociology, with an emphasis in business and economic sociology.
Castro's Career Stats YEARAVGGP-GSABRH2B3BHRRBITBSLG%BBHBPSOGDPOB%SFSHSB-ATTPOA EFLD% 2006.28353-4015927455231963.396192185.363255-8417233.993 2007.16742-2610213173011423.225171231.287201-1232115.980 2008.37667-67279681051831473171.613264424.429605-6433612.996 TOTALS.309162-13354010816726518106257.4766278310.38110511-1510829510.992
Castro's Career NCAA Tournament Stats YEARAVGGP-GSABRH2B3BHRRBITBSLG%BBHBPSOGDPOB%SFSHSB-ATTPOA EFLD% 2006.3335-51856020310.5564021.435100-04921.981 2008.41311-11469195031733.7176081.481001-283901.000 TOTALS.39116-166414255232043.672100102.467101-2132111.993
Castro's Career Highs At-bats: 6 (6 times), last: May 12, 2008 vs. Santa Clara Runs: 3 (6 times), last: May 11, 2008 vs. California Hits: 4 (4 times), last: April 26, 2008 vs. USC Home Runs: 1 (18 times), last: June 16, 2008 vs. Georgia (College World Series) RBI: 4 (4 times), last: June 7, 2008 at Cal State Fullerton (NCAA Super Regional) Stolen Bases: 1 (11 times), last: June 7, 2008 at Cal State Fullerton (NCAA Super Regional) Hitting Streak: 13 games, April 16-May 4, 2008