{"id":644767,"date":"2017-03-21T07:00:14","date_gmt":"2017-03-21T11:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/?p=644767"},"modified":"2017-03-21T07:00:14","modified_gmt":"2017-03-21T11:00:14","slug":"nick-castellanos-detroit-tigers-2017-outlook-hitting-second","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thesportsdaily.com\/news\/nick-castellanos-detroit-tigers-2017-outlook-hitting-second\/","title":{"rendered":"Nick Castellanos’ Improved Speed Could Lead to a Breakout Season"},"content":{"rendered":"
It appeared as though the Detroit Tigers were going to strip their squad down as much as possible this past winter. And after shipping\u00a0Cameron Maybin<\/strong><\/a> to the Los Angeles Angels at nearly the first chance they could<\/a>, he seemed to just be the first domino to fall.<\/p>\n Until he wasn’t. More or less, he was the only domino to fall.<\/p>\n Despite general manager Al Avila’s strong words<\/a> and tons of trade rumors, they couldn’t even find someone willing to pay the price for\u00a0J.D. Martinez<\/strong><\/a>, which shouldn’t have been shocking<\/a>.<\/p>\n Now that Maybin is gone, it leaves a void in the second spot of manager Brad Ausmus’ order. That’s always an important spot, but it’s even more important when it’s followed by hitters like\u00a0Miguel Cabrera<\/strong><\/a> and\u00a0Victor Martinez<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n J.D. Martinez was reportedly the early favorite<\/a>\u00a0to take that spot, but he’d rather hit lower in the lineup. One person who does want to hit second, though, is\u00a0Nick Castellanos<\/strong><\/a>. He’s not a prototypical no. 2 hitter, but he’s the perfect fit for this club.<\/p>\n After a quick cup of coffee in the big leagues during the 2013 season that consisted of just 18 plate appearances, Castellanos became an everyday player\u00a0for Detroit in 2014. What’s interesting is that while this past season was the smallest number of games he played in a single season, it was by far his most impactful at the plate.<\/p>\n Here’s his\u00a0three-year progression in a few key offensive categories:<\/p>\nA Step Forward in 2016<\/h2>\n