(February 12, 2019, York, Pa.) — The York Revolution have made three more player signings for the 2019 season, locking down the return of infielder Henry Castillo while adding pitcher Dan Minor and catcher Carlos Paulino. The signings were announced by Revs manager Mark Mason on Monday evening’s episode of “Revs Hot Stove Weekly” presented by Shipley Energy on SportsRadio 1350 WOYK.
Castillo impressed in 44 games with York in 2018 after joining the team in July. The switch-hitter batted .310 with nine doubles, three triples, two home runs, and 22 RBI while seeing time at second base, third base, and shortstop. He hit his stride late in the year, batting .410 (32-for-78) in 23 games from August 20 through the remainder of the season. The 24-year-old spent his first five pro seasons in the Arizona Diamondbacks organization and batted over .300 in each of his first two years in the United States. The Dominican Republic native connected on a career-high 12 home runs for Visalia in 2016 and is a career .274 hitter in six seasons.
“We’re really happy to have him back,” said Mason. “He was a nice surprise for us last year. He showed opposite field power. He’s a young guy that’s excited to be here and works really hard. Once he started playing on a more regular basis we saw some really good things.”
Minor joins the Revs for his seventh pro season. Originally a ninth-round draft pick of the Houston Astros in 2012 out of Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, the Austin, TX, native spent his first four seasons in the Astros farm system. The righty led the Appalachian League with a 2.75 ERA and a 1.03 WHIP in his rookie season in 2012 and went a combined 17-6 over the following two seasons at Class A and High-A. Minor reached Double-A Corpus Christi in 2015, before pitching in the American Association for parts of three years. The 28-year-old went 11-2 with a 2.51 ERA in 15 starts for Gary last season, allowing just 87 hits and 19 walks with 77 strikeouts in 97.0 innings. That followed a six-start stint with Gary the year before, during which he held a 1.47 ERA. Minor went 2-1 with a 3.94 ERA in six starts for Caribes de Anzoategui of the Venezuelan Winter League this past offseason and is a combined 35-13 with a 3.45 ERA in his pro career.
“He’s a strike-thrower, a really good command guy that keeps the ball down in the zone,” commented Mason. “We’re looking to have him come in and give him an opportunity to start with us.”
Paulino enters his 12th pro season and has spent six seasons at the Triple-A level, having played in the Miami Marlins, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Minnesota Twins organizations. The 29-year-old is a career .250 hitter and has thrown out 33% of opposing base stealers, including 46% in 2017 between Double-A Chattanooga and Triple-A Rochester and New Orleans. The Dominican Republic native played in the Mexican League with Oaxaca last season, batting .276 with two home runs and 22 RBI in 33 games.
“Defensively, he’s a phenomenal catcher,” remarked Mason. “He handles pitching staffs really well. The reports have been really good on him. Offensively, he’s shown signs of power.”
The Revs now have six players under contract for the upcoming season and will continue to unveil additional signings each week on “Revs Hot Stove Weekly” presented by Shipley Energy on SportsRadio 1350 WOYK. The next episode will air either Monday, February 18, or Tuesday, February 19, at 6 p.m., depending on WOYK’s local high school and college basketball playoff broadcast schedule. Check woyk1350.com, The New WOYK app, and @WOYK1350 on Twitter for updated airtime information.