Hundreds of baseball players make their debut over the course of a season. However, for every Ronald Acuña and Scott Kingery, there are dozens of lesser-known prospects making their debuts who aren’t as frequently discussed. To remedy that, Alex Fast, Adam Garland, Ben Palmer and I will be doing a write-up on every single player making their MLB Debut. Inspired by the Effectively Wild podcast and Andrew Perpetua, we’ll discuss each debut’s skill set, how long they will likely remain in the majors and any other pertinent information you need to know. Each player will also be stored in a spreadsheet featuring further information (bio, D.O.B, player ID’s, etc) that can be accessed at the bottom of the article.
We had two players debut on June 2nd:
Austin Gomber (SP/RP, St. Louis Cardinals, 24 years old)
Call Up Date: June 2nd
Role: Injury Fill-In
Organization Ranking: 10th
Overall Ranking: N/A
Grades: Fastball: 55 | Curveball: 60 | Change-Up: 50 | Control: 55 | Overall: 45
Fantasy Relevance: None
After being called up for about a week earlier in the season and then sent back down, Austin Gomber returned and finally made his Major League debut. He worked three scoreless innings against the Pirates, striking out two, walking one and earning his first career Hold. Gomber has the unfortunate role of being a good starting pitcher in a farm filled with great pitchers. In AAA Memphis this year, he’s started 9 games with a respectable 3.60 ERA and 63 K’s. He sports an above average three-pitch mix that gives him the ceiling of a backend starter in the rotation. The Cardinals organization however seems to want to treat him the way they do all their pitching prospects: by coming out of the pen. However, if the shuttle Gomber’s already been on is any indication, his stint in the Majors be a short one with Carlos Martinez due to return from the DL this upcoming week. There is a chance the Cardinals could send John Brebbia back down as they’ve done a bit this year but barring an injury to another one of their SP’s, I don’t see Gomber getting any starts any time soon.
Jose Castillo (RP, San Diego Padres, 22 years old)
Call Up Date: June 2nd
Role: Bullpen Depth
Organization Ranking: N/A
Overall Ranking: N/A
Grades: N/A
Fantasy Relevance: Potential flier in deep holds leagues
If Jose Castillo’s name for some reason registers deep in the depths of your brain where you keep old locker combinations and strange pieces of advice your great grandfather gave you it’s likely because he was involved the mega three-way deal between San Diego, Washington and Tampa Bay in 2014. This was the deal that sent Trea Turner and Joe Ross to the Nats, Steven Souza (among others) to the Rays and Wil Myers, Ryan Hanigan, Gerardo Reyes, and Jose Castillo to the Padres. Now it’s important to note that when the deal happened, Castillo was just 18 so it isn’t like he’s been terrible since the trade. With that said, he doesn’t crack the Padres top 30 mostly because he’s yet to crack 80 IP in a year due to various injuries. With that said, this year Castillo has had an impressive minor league campaign. He has a 2.31 ERA over 23.1 IP in AA and AAA with 8 saves on 9 opportunities with a whopping 13.50 K/9. His debut was very impressive as he struck out the side including Joey Votto and moving forward he could have a middle relief job if he continues to get the K production he’s getting. Any slip up however and he could be the first to be sent back down considering the depth the Padres already have in the ‘pen.
Missed a player’s debut? Read detailed reports on all 2018 MLB debuts in this spreadsheet.